Authorities will toughen penalties for leaking confidential bank and customs data.

The Russian Ministry of Finance has drafted a bill (available to RBC) that toughens criminal penalties for the illegal disclosure or use of information constituting commercial, tax, or banking secrets. This includes data from customs databases, the leak of which could have a negative impact on the Russian economy, according to the bill's accompanying materials. The explanatory note notes that, despite the blocking of resources containing leaked databases, the black market for such information continues to grow.

The Ministry of Finance's press service confirmed the authenticity of the draft law to RBC. They also clarified that the document had been approved by the government's legislative committee. The document still needs to be approved at a government meeting, after which it will be submitted to the State Duma for consideration.

What amendments to the Criminal Code are proposed?

The bill proposes amendments to Article 183 of the Criminal Code, which regulates penalties for obtaining and disclosing information constituting a commercial, tax, or banking secret. According to the proposed amendments, if a group of persons, acting in collusion or an organized group, illegally, without the consent of the data owner, discloses or uses (subject to causing significant damage—over 3.5 million rubles—or for selfish reasons) information constituting a banking, commercial, or tax secret, then:

• the minimum penalty will increase from a fine of up to 1.5 million rubles (or the convicted person's salary for a period of up to three years), as provided for in the current version of Article 183 of the Criminal Code, to forced labor for up to five years;
• The upper limit ranges from forced labor for up to five years or imprisonment for up to five years, as currently prescribed in Article 183, to imprisonment for two to five years, with the possibility of a simultaneous fine of up to 5 million rubles (or up to five years' salary).

Penalties for the illegal disclosure or use of information constituting a commercial, tax, or banking secret that results in "grave consequences" are also being tightened (in this case, other qualifying elements, such as prior conspiracy or an organized group, are not required). Such acts will be punishable by forced labor for up to five years or imprisonment for three to seven years, with the possibility of an additional fine of 1 million to 5 million rubles (or one to five years' salary). Currently, the penalty is forced labor for up to five years or imprisonment for up to seven years.

According to the bill's authors, the disclosure of banking, tax, and commercial secrets contributes to restricting competition in the markets, which negatively impacts the country's economic situation. "Currently, the penalties imposed for such crimes are not commensurate with their socially dangerous consequences. The proposed amendments will provide additional criminal protection for this type of information and will also help reduce its illegal circulation," the Finance Ministry's press service told RBC. The Federal Customs Service has reviewed and approved the bill, the ministry's press service reported. RBC also sent inquiries to the government and  the Central Bank . 

According to Ekaterina Avdeeva, a member of the General Council and HEAD of the expert council on criminal law policy and enforcement of judicial decisions at Delovaya Rossiya, the amendments essentially remove legal uncertainty by clarifying the lower limit of punishment (specifically, for imprisonment—"from two to five years" / "from three to seven years," whereas the lower limit is currently undefined. — ), since the lack of such a limit leads to a high degree of variability in COURT decisions, which has always been a significant factor in the growth of corruption. "We are seeing a shift in the emphasis of punishment from fines to forced labor, which is entirely justified. Fines were not fulfilling their intended purpose of preventing these crimes," Avdeeva notes.

Why was it necessary to tighten penalties?

The explanatory note to the bill emphasizes that the information regulated by Article 183 includes confidential information from customs authority databases. The drafters clarify that information from customs authority databases constitutes a tax secret, as it contains information about taxpayers and insurance premium payers. The bill's documentation notes that, as part of efforts to combat information leaks from customs databases, 65 online resources providing access to such information have been identified.

Despite the fact that the activities of such resources are blocked and those responsible face criminal penalties, the black market for the illegal circulation of this information continues to grow, and illegal acts in this area are recurrent, according to the explanatory note to the bill.

It also notes that leaked customs information could be used by the media for unscrupulous purposes. "For example, in 2023, the media began actively disseminating information about schemes used in the Russian Federation to import goods subject to sanctions. The purpose of such publications is to harm specific economic entities, economic sectors, and the overall economic interests of the Russian Federation," the note notes. For example, in 2024 , the American agencyBLOOMBERG , citing "classified data from the Russian customs service," wrote about the import of American and European microprocessors into RUSSIA.

The increased punishment reflects the increased public danger of the crime, and it is clear that there are grounds for such a reassessment, says Vadim Klyuvgant, partner at Pen & Paper Law Firm.

According to the Supreme Court's Judicial Department, in the first half of 2024, 18 people were convicted under Part 3 of Article 183 (under aggravating circumstances—prior conspiracy, organized group, major damage, or selfish interest), and one person under Part 4 (serious consequences).

How big is the problem of bank data theft and leakage?

In 2020, banking market participants already proposed significantly toughening penalties under Article 183 of the Criminal Code. "It is necessary to separate the concept of 'banking secrecy' from other secrets, as the acquisition of this information is widespread: nearly 2 million buyers seeking access to banking secrecy are currently registered on the Russian-language portion of the darknet," the Association of Russian Banks stated.

The National Financial Market Council (NFMC) welcomed the amendments proposed by the Ministry of Finance. "Since we're talking about intentional crimes with aggravating circumstances, the proposed measures deserve full support. To fulfill the preventive function, the punishment must be sufficiently severe, which is what the government is proposing. It's likely that the current sanction has proven insufficiently effective," notes NFMC Chairman Andrei Yemelin.

However, Oleg Tkachenko, a lawyer and counsel in the dispute resolution practice at Melling, Voitishkin & Partners, doubts the proposed bill will solve the problem of theft and dissemination of banking and tax data. "The increased penalties consist of introducing additional monetary penalties in the form of fines for the illegal acquisition and disclosure of commercial, tax, and banking secrets. Of course, such increased penalties could have some psychological effect on some potential offenders, and the number of violations will likely decrease for a while," he believes.

Moreover, the most severe punishment (up to seven years' imprisonment) is provided for if grave consequences result from the illegal disclosure of protected secrets. Such cases are rare, and in practice, proving a connection between the disclosure of the secret and the consequences is difficult, Tkachenko adds. "If this bill is passed, then the illegal collection and disclosure of this type of secret will remain, and will remain, a minor crime. Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies often respond halfheartedly to reports of such crimes," the lawyer believes.

According to Avdeeva, the human factor plays a role, and there are numerous scandals involving leaks of databases containing tax information, and often even personal data. "This poses a serious public danger, as such databases can be used by a wide range of individuals with dishonest intentions—from competitors to fraudsters and even enemy intelligence agencies," she said. Avdeeva believes that law enforcement practice will determine how the situation will change, but if there is no positive progress, further increases in penalties under this article and even a raising of the crime's severity category cannot be ruled out.

Who might be interested in classified customs information?

Alexander Firanchuk, a leading researcher at RANEPA, believes that if the database is leaked even once, it will become available to all interested parties for close analysis. It's unlikely that increased penalties will be effective in this case. "More likely, tougher penalties for those responsible will only increase the value of such a database on the illegal market," the expert believes.

"In the current context of external sanctions pressure, which includes various discriminatory measures against the Russian Federation's economy, preserving established production and technological chains that ensure the strategic development of the economy is of particular importance," the explanatory note notes.

Since March 2022, the Federal Customs Service has ceased publishing import and EXPORT statistics. Vladimir Bulavin, the service's then-head, explained this decision by the desire to avoid "incorrect estimates, speculation, and discrepancies regarding import deliveries." A year later, the Federal Customs Service partially resumed publishing foreign trade statistics. Since then, the value of exports and imports by broad product groups and by geographic region have been published monthly on the 40th day following the end of the reporting period, cumulatively.

Firanchuk believes that closing statistics on unauthorized goods increases demand for such information among market participants. "Many companies are accustomed to tracking the overall volumes and directions of imports and exports of certain goods, that is, analyzing market conditions. Therefore, completely closing the database could lead to increased demand for this information, despite the questionable legality of obtaining it," he believes.

According to the expert, a more effective way to reduce companies' demand for this database would be to reinstate the publication of data on obviously unauthorized products. He also believes that to reduce the risk of identifying sensitive goods, it might be more logical to expand the use of unspecified product codes—for example, by specifying only the first two digits instead of the full ten-digit code. "Another option could be to specify a block of supplier countries in the database instead of a specific country, as well as a general reduction in the level of detail in the information collected. The main danger lies in excessive data detail, which potentially allows for the identification of counterparties and supply chains," Firanchuk concludes.

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