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First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov is proposing aclampdown onoffshore business, putting his weight behind draft legislation towiden tax authorities' power toprevent illegal offshore financial activities.

Prepared bythe Federal Service forFinancial Monitoring, or RosFinMonitoring, under Zubkov's aegis andfinished this month, thebill suggests broadening therights ofboth banks andtax agents intheir dealings with offshore financial structures, Vedomosti reported Monday.

Included inthe draft, ofwhich Vedomosti obtained acopy, are proposals toallow banks andtax authorities tomake it more difficult forRussian businesses tocreate offshore firms, toimpose more rules oncompany owners andto oblige firms toreveal their beneficial owners. Thebill also lets tax andbanking agents penalize companies financially fortrying touse offshore structures.

In2011, about 2 trillion rubles ($68 billion) was sent out ofthe Russian economy, according toZubkov's estimates, Vedomosti reported. Also, RosFinMonitoring andthe Central Bank found that about 1 trillion rubles ofa net capital outflow ofroughly 2.5 trillion rubles bore indications ofmoney laundering, most ofit occurring through fly-by-night firms.

Zubkov casts along shadow onRosFinMonitoring: He was thefirst head ofthe agency after President Vladimir Putin created it in2004 andserved there until Putin appointed him prime minister in2007.

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Zubkov Seeks Offshoring Crackdown