MOSCOW, August 10 (RAPSI) – Russian courts granted 13 claims seeking forfeiture of property from state officials, who were not able to prove legality of its acquisition in the first half of 2017, seizing 230 million rubles ($3.8 million) in the process, the Prosecutor General’s Office stated on Thursday.

The Office noted that this amount is 10 times higher than the figure registered in the same period of the last year. In the first half of 2017, courts registered 17 lawsuits seeking forfeiture of property with estimated value of 75 million rubles ($1.25 million).

Prosecutor Offices file claims to courts in order to monitor income and expenditures of state officials. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, if an official or his family members spend an amount of money exceeding family’s total income for the period of last three years purchasing real estate, vehicles, or securities over a reporting year, the authorities are to check these expenditures.

In case an official fails to explain the origin of the money spent, the Prosecutor's Office is to file a claim.

The law obliging state and municipal employees, as well as employees of public organizations, to report expenditures came into force on January 1, 2013.