The Parliament supported the draft law on an agreement with the investigation in corruption cases

In the first reading, the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) supported the new draft law No. 12039 on agreements with the investigation in corruption cases.

The MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported this.

The draft law is approved by the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAP), the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), and it also complies with Ukraineʼs international obligations. Hereʼs what it offers:

• add a fine as a form of punishment regardless of whether it is specified in the sanction of the article;
• impose a punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty less than that specified in the sanction of the article, if the person involved in the case provided incriminating statements and confirmed them with other evidence or in the case when he fully or partially compensated the damages;
• introduce additional punishments in the form of property confiscation — in case of release from serving a probationary sentence, if the parties to the agreement have agreed on an additional punishment;
• prohibit making agreements with the organizer of the crime, except in the case when the person involved in the case agrees to expose another organizer.

The position of SAP, NABU and the Anti-Corruption Center

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office supported the draft law. They believe that it will "increase the efficiency of investigations and speed up the trial of top corruption cases."

The head of the Anti-Corruption Center Vitaliy Shabunin said that if this law is adopted without significant amendments, it will be profitable for the perpetrators of the crimes to hand over the organizers of the schemes to NABU and SAP.

"The draft law meets our obligations to the EU within the framework of the Ukraine Facility. Specifically, Ukraine will receive €350 million for the adoption of this draft law, " he summarized.

Position of Transparency International Ukraine

The non-governmental organization Transparency International Ukraine emphasizes that this draft law does not qualitatively regulate the issue of confiscation of illegally acquired property, it is also not clear from the document whether it is possible to conclude an agreement with the parties involved, whose actions did not cause damage, and how the party involved in the case, who independently committed the offense, will have a reduced term. The court is also not empowered to demand the collected materials of the pre-trial investigation when verifying the agreement.

"If the law is adopted in this form, there will still be problems with the effectiveness of the institution of agreements and double interpretation of norms," adds Transparency International Ukraine.

What preceded

On July 18, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported in the first reading draft law No. 11340 on agreements with the investigation in the proceedings regarding corruption crimes. However, the Anti-Corruption Committee of the Council, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office opposed the draft law No. 11340.

For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.