A group of high-ranking bankers began an operation to seize power in the country by appropriating part of government functions.
Yesterday, on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum, Sberbank Vice President Andrei Sharov said that his structure plans to take over the functions of issuing passports and migration documents from 2019, and in some regions bankers will begin issuing passports this year.
According to Sharov, Sberbank does not intend to limit itself to issuing passports: bank clients “will be able to register an apartment, receive a passport, a driver’s license,” i.e. the bank is essentially will perform the functions of the MFC.”
The initiator of the transfer of state powers to the hands of “authorized banks” (except for Sberbank, this is also VTB), as Katyusha already reported, was Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov. In January of this year this Chubais fan and lover of carrying his porgy dogs to exhibitions on a private jet instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to study the issue of transferring to banks the functions of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise (FSUE) "Passport and visa service". The bankers have done their work and are now going to issue domestic and foreign passports to Russians.
The revolutionary essence of this news is explained in his article by the famous writer and cybernetics specialist Valery Filimonov: “Before starting to work with a client, a bank must identify him. In the last few years, dramatic steps have been taken to identify banking identification and identification for the provision of government services. Banking and commercial structures (including transnational ones) together with operators in the field IT -technology and communications will, instead of ensuring and protecting our legal rights, provide paid services in electronic form. In the near future, banks will not only perform the functions of storing money and various transactions with it (and in electronic form), but will become “an instrument that provides services,” and through the latest methods of identifying citizens, “including biometrics and various gadgets with geolocation. With a complete move away from cash, the life of every citizen will be entirely dependent on banks. The moneylender wanted - and deprived a person of access to material goods; he wanted - and set any conditions for access to these benefits, including those contrary to the person’s conscience and religious beliefs. Thus, banks will become a functioning institution of power that does not need the traditional triad of power structures - legislative, executive and judicial. In fact, this would mean an unlimited dictatorship of the banks. The trade and financial system, including electronic identification of citizens and the introduction of electronic non-cash payments, aims to completely enslave people through the abolition of cash, strict and comprehensive control of the exchange of goods and the movement of virtual funds in citizens’ electronic bank accounts.”
To make it clear to the reader to whom Mr. Shuvalov and others like him are transferring the functions of passport, visa and migration services, and with them the personal data of tens of millions of Russians, let us clarify that, according to Wikipedia, to whom: at least 50% of Sberbank shares are owned by unknown , and more than 45% of shareholders are non-residents: Pro-Western nature and affiliation of Sberbank management with the largest transnational corporations is already visible from this document.
At the same time, the management of Sberbank and VTB openly ignores the President and the state interests of the Russian Federation. Thus, Sberbank not only has not yet opened branches in the Russian Crimea, but even for some time demonstratively violated the Presidential decree on the recognition of documents issued by the authorities of the LDPR. At the same time, Sberbank continues to invest in Ukraine captured by the junta,remaining one of its main sponsors.
But that’s not all: from time to time German Oskarovich, with his passion for the digital economy and artificial intelligence, produces such surreal nonsense that one can’t help but I want to call an ambulance.
And these are not just words: Gref is trying to interfere with the competence of the Ministry of Education, being one of the lobbyists of the “Contingent” base and the ideologists of the destruction of the education system in particular, through the “Teacher for Russia” program. But this is not enough for the colorful banker: in the winter of this year, the FSB arrested on charges of treason a number of its employees who collaborated with Sberbank and, it is possible, prepared the ground for a coup d'etat.
And this is even before the transfer of government functions! What will happen if the idea of Shuvalov and Gref is implemented to the end? O. Huxley, with his famous dystopia, nervously smokes on the sidelines...
Sberbank has decided on the timing of when they will begin issuing passports for citizens. It is noted that in this way the institution will gradually become a multifunctional center. Prior to this, the government also instructed organizations such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Bank of Russia, and VTB to study such issues. According to media reports, Sberbank plans to begin launching a pilot implementation of the above function in some regions in 2017, and two years later to begin issuing passports and migration documents for all of its branches.
This information came from the vice president, head of the small business development department of the institution, Andrei Sharov, when the Eastern Economic Forum was held. According to this specialist, bank employees in certain regions will do what employees in multifunctional centers do. Accordingly, those who are clients of the bank will have the opportunity to register residential real estate and obtain a passport and driver’s license. In addition, a number of similar pilot projects are planned to continue until, in fact, “going into circulation.”
Sharov emphasized that they will start first in those places where there are quite a few multifunctional centers. According to estimates, this is about a third of the entire constituent entity of the Russian Federation. There, accordingly, people most need the implementation of this initiative. The banker also indicated some examples of what the organization of this interaction would be like in practical terms.
According to Sharov, there are situations when a certain businessman has purchased a plot of land, but it is necessary to register it, for which an appeal is made to client managers. Such a discussion may shift, in particular, to lending. At the same time, a rather important function of the multifunctional center, which Sberbank intends to carry out due to the similarity of interests, is to interact with government services. In particular, less than half of all Russians have an active record. Bank employees, accordingly, will begin to help people create personal accounts for using one or another electronic service.
In addition to this service, information about other active actions of Sberbank appeared in the press. In particular, it is noted that in 2018 the organization will begin supplying gold to China, since this country has a priority market for precious metals. At the same time, they will increase the expected from several tons to more than a dozen. According to Igor Bulantsev, head of the investment and corporate business of Sberbank CIB, among other things, the organization is also interested in the Indian gold market.
In fact, it was reported at the beginning of the year that banking institutions will gradually begin providing services for issuing Russian and foreign passports, as well as other documents. Then this was done by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise? “Passport and Visa Service”, which was part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This initiative was considered by the government. It was noted that this information was present in the minutes of the official meeting between First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and the ministers. Financial institutions and the Ministry of Internal Affairs were supposed to submit a number of relevant proposals for consideration by the government, but when exactly to do this was not indicated.
Actually, the Federal State Unitary Enterprise? "Passport and visa service", being subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, prepared and accompanied all the documents that are needed to obtain a foreign passport, Russian passport, work permit, patent for foreigners and those who work for individuals in Russia . The company also prepared a package of necessary papers so that residents of other states could temporarily work and live in our country, receive Russian citizenship, a tourist invitation and be registered with migration authorities, and so on. Multifunctional centers where they provided state and municipal services worked similarly.
The only difference was the timing and cost. In particular, to obtain a foreign passport at a federal state unitary enterprise, it is more expensive, but less time-consuming, since you do not need to collect the documentation yourself and fill out a number of necessary papers. In a multifunctional center you only need to pay a state fee and wait one month. In addition to everything, the Federal State Unitary Enterprise must be given a fee for providing services - for the capital this equals three and a half thousand rubles. This price includes consultation, the full procedure for registration and issuance of the document. They do it in 20 days.
According to press reports, Shuvalov gave instructions to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and banking structures in order to maintain competition. In addition, through the implementation of such an initiative, it will help citizens to more easily obtain passports and other documents, taking into account the availability of a branch of a particular bank. Actually, this is beneficial for the latter precisely because of the extensive networks. The same Sberbank or VTB have a large number of branches. In addition, institutions, gaining access to the passport database of Russian residents, will be able to use this information to assess various risks. For example, these include foreign travel, labor patents and residence permit data. Some bankers noted that this will add additional clients to banks, which will bring a certain profit. One way or another, those who are interested in such a service are obviously not below the poverty line.
Irina Letinskaya
Sberbank is ready to begin a pilot project to issue passports and other documents to citizens, the bank’s vice-president Andrey Sharov announced today. The pilot project will run throughout 2018, and “it will go into circulation in 2019.” Sberbank plans to start primarily with regions where there is currently a shortage of multifunctional centers; there are about 30% of them in the country. Directly at the bank branch, visitors will be able to register an apartment, receive a passport, and a driver’s license. This can be simply called “state outsourcing”.
The trend of transferring traditional government functions to private contractors today is, if not dominant in the world, then at least on the rise. In 2013 alone, outsourcing to federal agencies in the United States amounted to $500 billion. And this does not take into account states and municipalities, which are also actively trying to minimize their costs.
However, in America the role of outsourcing (even if this word was not used then) has always been high. Even such a secret and important government project as the creation of an atomic bomb was largely built on it. And today, both of the nation's nuclear weapons centers, Livermore Laboratory and Los Alamos Laboratory, are run by private partnerships that include nongovernmental training and education institutions and corporations such as Bechtel. The same is true in space and rocket technology, where the most important centers are where spacecraft are created. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is managed by California Tech University, and the Applied Physics Laboratory is managed by Johns Hopkins University.
Corrections Corporation of America, a $1.7 billion-plus company, operates private prisons. The same process is underway in the UK, where at least three companies are engaged in this business. It is estimated that over six years private prisons should provide budget savings of £450 million. And, of course, the sensational “private military companies” (PMCs), which were entrusted with much of the responsibility in Iraq.
In the latter case, the effectiveness of outsourcing government functions was called into question. Blackwater PMC (the most important provider of such services) became involved in many scandals, and as a result was forced to change both management and name, and leave the Iraqi market. Now Russia is repeating the same path in neighboring Syria, entrusting certain tasks to private specialists, despite the fact that mercenary activity is prohibited by law (Article 359 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The largest British security company G4S in 2012 failed the signed contract to provide security for the London Olympics, failing to recruit and train the required number of people within the allotted time frame. The government had to urgently involve police and soldiers to close the security gap that had formed just before the start of the Games.
Thus, transferring government functions to private hands is not an easy matter, having not only obvious advantages, but also significant disadvantages. Here there is social responsibility - the irresponsibility of business, and the lack of alternatives to many decisions, and the special importance for society of fulfilling duties traditionally associated with the state.
For Russia, the experiment with transferring to Sberbank the authority to issue documents will mean direct competition with state and semi-state services - multifunctional centers (MFCs) and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Passport and Visa Service”.
Why might it be necessary to turn to the services of Sberbank, also an organization, in general, a state one? A financial calculation of how much the budget would save from this was not provided. The state itself is neither a benefactor nor an idealist, and it will not initiate competition for the sake of purity of market principles. There were also no reports that the situation with the issuance of documents was very bad. Andrei Sharov himself is by no means a libertarian, and until recently his entire career was connected with public service (it so happened that we studied together for three years in graduate school at the Academy of Civil Service, and I can fully imagine his potential).
It seems that we are talking about finding new opportunities to increase the income of the country's leading bank. Maintaining the strength of Sberbank's position is the most important task of the government. In addition to receiving a stable government order, Sberbank can also gain access to the data of its clients who will contact it for documents. This will help adjust the credit policy in relation to specific loan recipients. For example, an employee of Sberbank will know about the foreign trips of the person applying for a loan, or about his employment of labor, or the availability of vehicles (it is assumed that he will issue not only foreign passports, but also driver’s licenses and residence permits).
In any case, outsourcing of public services should be carried out in conditions of maximum transparency and should be aimed at real savings for the budget, and not at supporting systemically important banks. This may require changes to current legislation. Let’s say, if the operation in Syria drags on (and there are still peacekeeping operations ahead in Ukraine, which Putin hinted at today), then why not remove the business of existing but formally banned private military companies from the “gray zone”?
This year Sberbank will begin issuing passports to citizens, thus performing the functions of employees of a multifunctional center. Previously, the government instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Bank of Russia, Sberbank and VTB to work on the relevant issue.
Sberbank plans to launch pilots in a number of regions this year, and from 2019 to take over the functions of processing passports and migration documents throughout the entire branch network, the vice president, head of the small business development department told reporters on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF). Sberbank Andrey Sharov, reports RBC correspondent.
“This year we will launch pilots in several regions: a bank employee will perform the functions of an employee of a multifunctional center (MFC),” he said, noting that this means that bank clients “will be able to register an apartment, receive a passport, and a driver’s license.”
Sharov also added that similar pilot projects are planned to be carried out throughout 2018, and “it will go into circulation in 2019.” Sberbank, as the vice-president of the credit institution clarified, plans to start primarily with regions where there is currently a shortage of multifunctional services. “Somewhere in 30% of the federal subjects there are shortages. We will start with these regions,” the banker emphasized.
In addition, he gave several examples of how this interaction would be organized in practice. “A simple situation: an entrepreneur bought a plot of land and comes to his client manager to register it. “The conversation immediately begins, for example, about lending,” he said, also noting that another important function of the MFC, in which the bank, according to him, is very interested, is interaction with the government services portal.
“Only a quarter of our population has an active record. We will help a person create a personal account so that he can use electronic services,” Sharov explained.
The fact that banks will begin to provide services for issuing Russian and foreign passports, as well as other documents that can currently be done with the help of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, became known in January. Then, according to the minutes of the meeting of First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov with the heads of ministries, this issue was instructed to be worked out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Bank of Russia, Sberbank and VTB.
As Shuvalov’s representative explained to RBC at the time, this measure is being taken in order to maintain competition. “If previously passports were issued by one federal state unitary enterprise, now it is planned to transfer this function to authorized banks,” RBC’s interlocutor clarified. Such an initiative, he said, taking into account all security measures, should “significantly make it easier for citizens to obtain passports and other documents, taking into account the accessibility of many bank branches.”
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