Interior Ministry says Duma members not linked with crime

Colonel Gennady Zakharov, the deputy head of the Interior Ministry's organized crime unit, said at the briefing on Tuesday that there are no deputies linked with crime in the fourth State Duma (the lower house of Russian parliament).

"We have no information proving that crime bosses or people linked with crime managed to penetrate the Duma," he stated.

At the same time, he said the available information shows that modern crime bosses, unlike their predecessors, attempt to disguise themselves as law-abiding citizens.

"Organized crime now strives to legalize its ill-gotten incomes," Mr. Zakharov said, "and for this purpose it penetrates the economy through corrupt connections in order to get access to the budget money."