The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed the Law No. 12039 on agreements with the investigation in corruption cases. The law was signed on time, that is, on October 31, — now Ukraine will receive €4 billion under the Ukraine Facility Plan.
The draft law introduces a new article that, in the event of cooperation with the investigation through exposure of accomplices and compensation for damages, allows for a shorter term of imprisonment than required by law. At the same time, the court will be able to determine as additional punishment a fine:
- for minor crimes — from 20 000 to 120 000 hryvnias of non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (NTMI);
- for serious crimes — from 120 000 to 6 million hryvnias of NTMI;
- for particularly serious crimes — from 270,000 to 12 million hryvnias of NTMI.
Also, in such cases, the court will be able to confiscate the property of the person involved, if this type of punishment is agreed upon. At the same time, it is not possible to enter into an agreement with the organizer of the crime, except in the case when the person involved in the case agrees to expose another organizer.
If we are talking about crimes of lesser severity and if they are not large schemes without accomplices, then a reduced imprisonment can be obtained by the person involved, who fully compensates the losses and pays the fine.
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 (NABU) and the Special Anti-corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAP) opposed the draft law No. 11340.
Already on October 9, the Rada supported a new draft law that met Ukraineʼs international obligations. The draft law was supported by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office. They believe that it will "increase the efficiency of investigations and speed up the trial of top corruption cases."
At the same time, the public 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.
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