Ukraine allows all accused of corruption to payback during war & escape criminal liability

Amid ongoing conflict with Russia, Verkhovna Ra, Ukrainian Parliament, has presented a bill to allow people charged with corruption to be exempted from criminal liability if damage is fully compensated during war. As per Ukrainian Pravda, bill, presented on April 29, was submitted for review on Tuesday. bill proposed that if damage inflicted is fully paid, a person who has committed acts that contain signs of crimes under Articles 191, 209, 364, and 367 of Criminal Code will be released from criminal accountability.

As stated in explanatory note, enactment of this measure is critical in order to develop private sources of cash mobilisation without jeopardising criminal justice obligations during  military aggression by  Russian Federation. Meanwhile, Vitaliy Shabunin, he of Anti-Corruption Action Center’s executive board, said that passage of bill would allow top corruption suspects to avoid punishment by "paying a portion of loot, and n peacefully continue to steal furr." "Inste of confiscating all assets of defendants and forcing m to serve a real prison sentence, deputies want to allow m to continue stealing by paying just a small part of what was stolen," Shabunin remarked, as per Pravda. 

Ukrainian Parliament passes law easing procedure for seizing Russians' assets

Last month, Ukrainian Parliament also passed a law that simplifies procedure for seizing Russians' assets who are subject to sanctions imposed by various countries. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servent of People party stated that procedure for confiscating assets of sanctioned Russians has been eased by deputies as parliament passed bill No. 7194. bill creates a new mechanism for sanctions against Russian Federation nationals during term of martial law.

Russia-Ukraine war

It is pertinent to mention here that war between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate and entered its day 69th on Tuesday. Ukraine on Tuesday blamed  invers for not permitting evacuation of over 2,000 Mariupol residents who are still trapped near Berdyansk village. Mariupol Mayor Vym Boychenko claimed this while speaking to UA marathon, Ukrinform reported. Earlier on May 1, more than 100 people were evacuated from Mariupol as part of a special operation.

Image: AP