MOSCOW, June 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's new top customs official said Wednesday he had submitted a proposal for the government to raise wages for the staff by 25% in an effort to fight corruption.
A number of high-ranking officials from the Federal Customs Service were fired as investigators launched a major probe into corruption after President Vladimir Putin highlighted the fight against graft as a key issue in his state of the nation address May 10.
"The salary of customs employees is about 10,000-15,000 rubles [$370-560] and officers at checkpoints are paid even less, at 8,000 rubles [just under $300], while there are so many temptations around," service head Andrei Belyaninov said.
He said the move would only be a partial solution to the problem, and that he was seeking to raise wages to $1,000 for staff of the customs service, which employs 62,000 people.
