Russia mulls tougher anti-terror legislation

Russia's top legislative body received Wednesday a package of draft bills set to toughen anti-terror measures and increase punishment for involvement in terrorist activities.

Three bills, which envisage expanding powers of the Federal Security Service (FSB), increasing anti-money-laundering measures and regulating electronic information flows, were submitted to the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, Xinhua reported.

In particular, the bills' authors proposed to put under control financial electronic transactions of over 100,000 rubles (about $3,000) and to outlaw anonymous cross-border transactions.

One of the bills calls for increasing the punishment for financing terrorist groups to up to 20 years of incarceration. The FSB could be entitled to search citizens and their belongings and vehicles.

The bills' initiators said these measures would restrict possibilities for financing terrorist organisations and communication between them.

The bills were submitted in the wake of the recent twin terror attacks in Volgograd, which killed at least 34, and on the eve of the Winter Olympic Games due in Sochi next month.

Earlier this month, Russian aviation authorities banned passengers to carry any liquids on airplanes as another security precaution.