MOSCOW. Oct 29 (Interfax) - Russian investigative authorities uncovered more than 28,000 corruption-related crimes in the first half of 2008, which is nearly 9% more than in the same period last year, Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika said at the State Duma on Wednesday.

The activities of law enforcement agencies in uncovering bribery are significantly expanding in most Russian regions, Chaika said. "The number of such crimes registered in 2007 is 5% more than in 2006, and a similar trend is continuing this year as well," he said.

In the first half of 2008, investigative authorities were handling criminal cases on nearly 23,000 office crimes supposedly committed by government officials, and 19,000 of them were forwarded to courts, Chaika said.

"At the same time, we cannot objectively qualify the measures that are being taken as appropriate in the current situation," Chaika said. Sociological polls suggest that "a significant number of people find it more beneficial to pay an unscrupulous official than live and act by the law," he said.

To prevent corruption crimes, the Prosecutor General's Office developed a methodology in 2007 to examine bills from the viewpoint of their vulnerability to corruption.

Chaika also suggested that the law should be amended so that assets gained through criminal activities could be confiscated.

"Among the bills that you (the State Duma members) are considering now, there are ones bringing up the issue of possibly confiscating property gained in a criminal way," he said.

Chaika also did not rule out that a unified investigative committee could be set up in Russia. He suggested analyzing the work of the Investigative Committee within the prosecution system "and then perhaps moving further ahead toward the establishment of a unified investigative committee."