September 17, 2010 – The 9th International Investment Forum “Sochi-2010” started today in the capital of the Winter Olympics 2014. Dimitry Afanasiev, member of the Partners’ Committee of EPAM gave recommendations on ways of improving the security of business and the overall business environment in Russia.

The quality of business environment, including the activities of the public administration, is an obvious factor affecting the investment climate, whilst the excessive influence of various power structures on business remains one of the most significant barriers for business development.

The New Law on Police and Security of Business briefing focused on discussing amendments to legislation and their implementation to protect the rights of businesses in Russia. Dimitry Afanasiev was invited to attend the briefing and present his recommendations on enhancing the new law On Police, as well as to suggest improvements to business security and the general business environment in Russia.

“The attempt to reform Russian law enforcement agencies is understandable and it demonstrates the special attention the government is paying to this issue”, said Dimitry. “However, only an in-depth approach may solve existing problems. First of all, it is important to increase the salaries and strengthen the social guarantees, so that police officers would value their jobs and are anxious to lose them. This will help to raise the status of the police force and attract young professionals. Secondly, the punishment for corruption should become inevitable, but the severity of punishment should be reduced. Finally, standards of professional education must be improved, and in particular, distance learning practices at police academies should be discontinued”.

According to Dimitry Afanasyev, it is necessary to put an end to police powers to intervene in business activities. “This is an extreme measure, but today it is justified as the law enforcement has become a business in its own right”, he noted.

Dimitry proposed attracting retired police chiefs from the EU and other developed countries as consultants in order to ensure effective implementation of the law enforcement agencies reforms. However, Dimitry believes that the police reforms alone will not be sufficient to improve the business environment: the civil legislation must also be amended, eliminating a whole range of peremptory norms that restrict the freedom of contracts between business entities; the powers of attorneys-at-law in civil and arbitration cases to collect evidence in preparation for legal disputes must be strengthened; and finally, proven methods of fighting corruption in other countries could be employed.

In conclusion, Dimitry Afanasiev noted that despite reports in Western media, doing business in Russia is more secure compared to other emerging markets, such as the BRIC countries. “It is clear that we wish to align ourselves with the world leading economies, but speaking frankly about our problems, we should not ignore the fact that when countries compete for investment, Russia, in comparison with some destinations like China, is a more secure and better place for doing business, - only we need better PR to improve the perception of the country[Russia].”, said Dimitry.

The Forum is one of the leading platforms for debate of the most topical issues of Russia's economic development, investment climate, presentation of investment projects of Russian corporations and regions. Among the forum participants are ministers and government officials, representatives of leading national and international companies, industry experts and businessmen. The Forum is traditionally opened by Vladimir Putin, the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.