Most of the criminal cases that law enforcement officers bring against businesses do not make it to court. The Office of the Prosecutor General says that the reason for the inconvenient statistics is not pressure from the security forces, but the norms of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). How did it happen?
Over the ten months of 2023, about 77% of criminal cases that were brought against businesses do not reach court, representatives of the Manifesto 42 public movement note, citing data from the Office of the Prosecutor General. Members of the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs (UUP) also have a problem with “suspended” cases, which is emphasized by business ombudsman Roman Vashchuk.
Business sees in this signs of pressure from law enforcement officers, and the Office of the Prosecutor General refers to the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which were changed in 2012 by the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration during the Yanukovych era, Andrei Portnov.
Is it possible to change the situation?
What business and law enforcement say about the problem
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, from January to October 2023, 4,249 criminal proceedings were opened against business representatives. Of these, only 989 (23%) were sent to court. In 2022, the rate of cases sent to court was higher - 33% (1149 proceedings out of 3414 registered), and in 2021 - 39% (2164 proceedings out of 5469 registered).
Statistics from the Union of Entrepreneurs are even more eloquent. “Among the cases in which the appeal took place before the start of the trial, 100% of the cases were not sent to court,” says Ekaterina Glazkova, executive director of the Supt. The Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) and the National Police initiated the most cases, adds Glazkova. The National Police are among the leaders of complaints and on the Business Ombudsman Council.
Business sees this as signs of pressure. “Thousands of “empty” cases, as a rule, are needed by the rear security forces for the purpose of corrupt pressure on business,” says Sergei Poznyak, coordinator of the public movement “Manifesto 42” and head of the Association of Veteran Entrepreneurs. The very fact of having cases prevents entrepreneurs from attracting investment and entering European markets, adds Poznyak.
Such statistics are due to the imperfection of the norms of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allow registering a case if there is only an appeal, and not a crime, appeals the interlocutor in the Office of the Prosecutor General, who asked not to mention his name in this article.
The change to the “Soviet” Code of Criminal Procedure, which had been in force since the 60s, occurred on the initiative of Andrei Portnov, a lawyer and deputy head of the Presidential Administration during the Yanukovych era, in 2012. Among a number of changes was the fact that it is obligatory to register criminal proceedings at the request of the plaintiff.
Previously, the prosecutor or investigator could refuse this if they did not see a crime in the case. “Therefore, there are registered cases, but these are not real criminal proceedings with prospects,” explains the interlocutor in the Office of the Prosecutor General.
How to reduce the number of “stuck cases”
At the end of June, Vladimir Zelensky instructed the deputy chairman of his office, Rostislav Shurma, to look into the problems of pressure on business from law enforcement officers.
To this end, in July, a series of meetings were organized at the Office of the President (OP) with the participation of business, representatives of the Ministry of Economy and law enforcement agencies. The moderators were Shurma and another deputy head of the OP, Oleg Tatarov.
So far the business has not seen the desired effect. Six entrepreneurs who were at the meeting in the OP, in a conversation with Forbes, talk about the absence of changes in the consideration of their cases. The business ombudsman is also cautiously optimistic. “The very idea of dialogue is a step forward, but without further institutional changes there will be no lasting effect from the meetings,” says Vashchuk.
It is necessary to review the norms of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allow for the proliferation of criminal cases, and to change the legal culture, he adds.
Business has other proposals. It is necessary to simplify and automate the closure of “stuck” cases in which investigative actions are not taken, as well as to review the work of disciplinary commissions in law enforcement agencies, reports Poznyak from the Manifesto 42 public movement.
The SUP believes that the system can only be changed by introducing personal responsibility for law enforcement officers. “It is necessary to introduce mandatory performance standards for all law enforcement agencies and to impose personal responsibility on investigators for unlawful pressure on business, and therefore, to be effective, appropriate changes to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine are needed,” says Glazkova.
