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the number of special declarations submitted under Amnesty 2.0. However, law firms report they saw a significant increase in interest in the declaration from our clients. Ironically the threat of new US sanctions that target commercial Russian firms was driving more Russians to repatriate their money.
Another reasons was Russia's accession to the international automatic exchange of information on financial accounts, the first data set for, which has already been received by the Federal Tax Service at the end of 2018. This exchange implies that Russia will receive information not only on personal accounts of Russian tax residents in foreign banks, but also on the accounts of companies whose beneficiaries are tax residents of Russia. In the context of global informational transparency and international cooperation in this area, hiding foreign assets by legal means becomes almost impossible.
To build up trust, the special declarations are transferred for centralized storage to the Federal Tax Service, and the information contained therein constitute a tax secret. Other state bodies are not entitled to access them, and the special declaration and documents attached to it can be requested only at the request of the declarant himself. The fact that the declaration was submitted, as well as the information contained in it, cannot be used as a basis for initiating a criminal case, proceedings in an administrative or tax offense case.
The last day of the Amnesty 2.0 is February 28, 2019.
2.12 More details released on Russia’s new hypersonic missiles
In Vladimir Putin’s sixteenth State of the Nation address he said Russia is prepared for a present-day version of the Cuban Missile Crisis and heralded a laundry list of capabilities that comprise Russia’s “high-tech breakthrough in defence.” Less than a week later, a state-sponsored television program broadcast a map of US targets that, in a nuclear conflict, Russia could strike with one of these weapons.
That weapon is the Tsirkon, a hypersonic missile designed for use against land and sea targets. It can be launched from submarines, bombers, and surface naval vessels. With a top speed of 9,800 kilometers per hour—‘hypersonic’ means travelling over five times faster than the speed of sound—the Tsirkon could hit any of the US targets within minutes. The Tsirkon and the other weapons on Putin’s list seem designed to overcome the US missile defence system, which is a source of deep concern to Moscow. That concern has driven Russia’s large-scale upgrade of its strategic forces over the past decade.
Here are three weapons that top the list:
Avangard
Avangard is a strategic hypersonic glide vehicle that launches from an intercontinental missile. The system’s ability to travel both laterally and vertically will help it defeat missile defences. In fact, US Air Force General John Hyten has said that the United States has no defence system capable of intercepting this type of weapon. Russia likely will begin deploying Avangard in 2020. If that date sticks, Russia would beat out China and the United States to be the first country to deploy a hypersonic, nuclear-capable, boost-glide weapon.
Sarmat
Sarmat is a new silo-based, liquid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) designed to replace two retiring Russian ICBMs. Equipped to carry over ten multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), and with a virtually unlimited range, Sarmat is aimed at thwarting US missile defence systems.
22 RUSSIA Country Report March 2019 www.intellinews.com