Russia’s Interior Ministry gets serious about rewarding police informants

Russia’s Interior Ministry is getting serious about rewarding police informants. On Tuesday, the Justice Ministry confirmed an initiative to pay cash prizes to citizens who provide information leading to the identification and capture of criminal suspects. Compensation for these services will range from 50,000 rubles to 10 million rubles ($750 to $148,260), payable in cash or direct deposit. The specific rewards for particular ongoing cases will be posted on the Interior Ministry’s website and reported in the news media.

Russia’s Interior Ministry doesn’t currently regulate the way it compensates police informants. The ministry has no formal budget for these rewards (payments for secret cooperation with the police belong to another agency), and informants are usually compensated with certificates, medals, or gifts.