Prime Minister of
Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman
initiates a special commission to ensure compliance with the requirements of
the legislation on business protection and the responsibility of controlling
bodies for excessive pressure on entrepreneurs be set
up. The Head of Government voiced such an initiative during the Government
sitting.
He emphasized
that the commission would comprise representatives of business circles in the
first place, therefore each case of squeeze on business would be discussed on
air.
"During the
streamed event we will unravel the scammers in uniforms, who, despite the fact
that their offshoots are in the field, parasitize and demand bribes," the
Head of Government said.
He stressed that
the Government respects investigators inquiring into serious crimes, the
National Guard, the combat units, but condemns those who inside the system
"besmirch the insignia and claim bribes from entrepreneurs."
"We shall
put an end to this," the Head of Government said, "It is crucial to end
the anarchy. We will publicly defend our honest businesses. I will retaliate
against anyone trying to conceal criminals."
Background
In September of
2017, a large meeting was summoned with the participation of the President of
Ukraine, the Prime Minister, MPs and the leadership of the General Prosecutor's
Office. One of the initiatives proclaimed during the meeting was the ‘Mask Show
Stop’ initiative, designed to put an end to any manifestations of pressure by
law enforcement agencies on entrepreneurs. The Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman urged the
pressure on honest business, that abides by law in
activities, pays taxes, creates product and provides jobs, is unacceptable.
The dialogue continued
with the bill on counteraction to pressure on business, developed jointly by
the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Secretariat of
the Cabinet of Ministers, the Business Ombudsman Office and other agencies. The
draft law was backed with a record number of votes in Parliament - over 300 MPs
supported it.
Key innovations
of the document are the inadmissibility and invalidity of the evidence obtained
during the execution of a search decision made without technical record. Similarly,
evidence obtained during a search for which a defender was not allowed are considered
incompetent.
Apart from that,
the document stipulates for the compulsory audio and video recording of the
search. The
evidence obtained during the search and not recorded via technical means is
considered incompetent and invalid. It
is banned to remove the originals of financial and economic documents, computer
equipment, servers and mobile phones belonging to business entities. The
more so, when criminal proceedings have been terminated it is prohibited to initiate
legal proceedings again. At
the same time, the bill ensures a reasonable time for criminal proceedings. In
particular, when rights are curtailed the persons receive the right to appeal to
the court about the inaction of the investigator and make a request to apply
reasonable time limits for proceedings.
Meanwhile, entrepreneurs
obtain the right to have the registration of the criminal case confirmed. It is
also crucial that a mechanism for auditing the activities of law enforcement
agencies in investigating economic crimes is introduced, as well as the
responsibility of law enforcement officers for unlawful actions is increased.