Counternarcotics and Law Enforcement Country Program: Russia

Fact Sheet

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

January 20, 2009

U.S. Mission

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) -supported criminal justice programs in Russia have been successful in identifying catalysts for change in Russia and in working with the Russian Federation to bring about practical improvements in both the capacity of the Russian criminal justice organizations and in their willingness to work with U.S. and other international partners in combating transnational crime.

U.S. Criminal Justice Sector Development Goals

The overall goals of the INL program in Russia are to:

• Encourage the Russian legal system to operate independently as a fair, non-corrupt, and effective arbiter of criminal prosecutions and civil disputes.
• Expand and develop U.S.-Russian mutual legal assistance and operational cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of transnational crime.
• Strengthen Russian capacity and willingness to participate in multilateral law enforcement efforts.
• Better protect intellectual property rights (IPR).
• Help Russia to combat trafficking in persons (TIP) and forced labor.
• Expand Russia’s ability to combat narcotics trafficking, especially along Afghan drug routes, and reduce drug abuse, including advocacy for more effective treatment programs.

U.S. Program Activities

• Support the jury trial system and efforts to expand its use.
• Expand the legal tools available to law enforcement, including cooperating witness provisions, effective child pornography laws, plea bargaining, and corporate criminal legal liability.
• Build the capacity of the private bar to effectively advocate on behalf of defendants and victims within a framework of legal ethics.
• Support improvement in the investigation and prosecution of TIP activities under existing criminal legislation and encourage more effective legal remedies, reintegration, and support services for TIP victims.
• Improve capacity to investigate cybercrimes, including better coordination among investigators, forensics personnel, and prosecutors.
• Continue peer-to-peer drug demand reduction and HIV prevention programs in high schools in high-risk areas.
• Improve cooperation between U.S. and Russian law enforcement agencies in dealing with shell corporations and other transnational money laundering criminal enterprises.
• Increase investigations and prosecutions of intellectual property theft, in part by promoting cooperation between private rights holders and Russian law enforcement.
• Sponsor academic research and public outreach to increase public and government understanding of the nature and extent of criminal activities, including public corruption, in 21^st century Russia.