MOSCOW, December 5 (RAPSI) – Proposals to create a bankruptcy process for individual Russians won backing from President Vladimir Putin at a conference Thursday.
Under a bill before the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, people in financial difficulties would be able to submit a bankruptcy request to a court. The court could then give applicants the right to repay their debts in installments over as much as five years.
Under the legislation, which passed its first reading on November 15, individuals with debts in excess of 50,000 rubles ($1,503) and who were at least three months in arrears could be declared bankrupt.
They would be barred from seeking a bank loan without disclosing their bankrupt status for a period of five years. The bill would also ban individuals from declaring bankruptcy more than once in five years.
Putin told a conference of the pro-presidential All-Russia People’s Front that the reform could encourage a greater sense of responsibility among individuals and financial organizations.