Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree ordering all Russian officials and heads of state companies to drop all foreign accounts and company shares.

State officials now have time until July 1 to close their foreign bank accounts, Kremlin chief of staff Sergei Ivanov has told reporters.

State officials and heads of state corporations who fail to submit information on real estate they own abroad will be sacked from their posts, Ivanov warned, according to RIA Novosti.

According to analysts, the move is aimed both at reducing corruption and at making Russian officials less vulnerable to foreign influence.

The issue of Russian state officials owning property abroad has come under the spotlight recently, with several of them resigning after it emerged that they owned undeclared real estate overseas.

Russia ranked 133rd of 174 countries in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index by the Transparency International watchdog.

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