New law allows Russian bailiffs to detain debtors

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed into law a bill that allows the bailiff service to pursue and detain debtors, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.The law gives bailiffs the right to hire private detectives to find people who are evading debt repayment, to detain them and to transfer them to the police.Currently court bailiffs do not have the legal right to detain debtors for subsequent prosecution.In September, the president issued a decree authorizing the Federal Bailiffs Service with search for corporate debtors and the property of individual and corporate debtors.Earlier the Interior Ministry was responsible for finding fugitive debtors, but after the new Police Law was adopted, the Federal Bailiffs Service was empowered to search for corporate debtors and the property of individual and corporate debtors.