MOSCOW, March 19 - RAPSI. Russia should introduce criminal liability for legal entities to return to Russia the funds that were siphoned off abroad illegally, Investigative Committee Chairman Alexander Bastrykin said.

Bastrykin told Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily that according to the Central Bank, capital outflow from Russia reached $56.8 billion last year, including over $35 billion withdrawn during suspect financial transactions.

"We believe that the issue of the repatriation of flight capital cannot be resolved unless we introduce criminal responsibility for legal entities. There is also a problem with foreign courts in criminal income cases. Since Russia cannot provide a court ruling on a given company's culpability, foreign courts refuse to repatriate stolen property to its legitimate owner or to impound it on behalf of Russia," Bastrykin said.

He believes that initially criminal responsibility can be introduced for legal entities' actions that are defined as criminal acts by international conventions to which Russia is a signatory. "These include the crimes of financing terrorism and extremism, money laundering and trafficking in arms, narcotics and people," Bastrykin said.

He added that the law drafted by the Investigative Committee stipulates penalties including fines and revocation of licenses, quotas, preferences and incentives. Legal entities can also be stripped of the right to engage in a given business or to operate in Russia. And lastly, they can be subject to enforced liquidation.