U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch has said the rule about illegal enrichment should be restored in legislation as one of the important elements of the fight against corruption.
The decision of the Constitutional Court seems to us a very significant step backwards in the fight against corruption in Ukraine. This weakens the anti-corruption architecture in Ukraine, including the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court, which must be created in Ukraine, and the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU),” she said in Kyiv during the Dialogues in Time event on March 5.
The ambassador added that Ukrainians are still awaiting results in the fight against corruption and the rule of law.
“I think that after the decision made last week, it will be adopted, and not just proposed, a new amendment to the Criminal Code, which will not only restore illegal enrichment as an anti-corruption tool, but will also restore dozens of cases that were undermined by the Constitutional Courts’ ruling,” she said.
As reported, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine issued a ruling in the case on a constitutional motion filed by 59 Members of Parliament of Ukraine regarding the compliance (constitutionality) of Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illicit enrichment) with the Constitution of Ukraine. By this ruling, the Court recognized that Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code does not comply with the Constitution of Ukraine, i.e. it is unconstitutional.
Changes in Article 368-2 appeared in 2015. Corresponding draft law No. 1660 was adopted by parliament in full during February 2015. It was one of the bills in a package of anti-corruption initiatives, passage of which was a condition for liberalizing visa-free travel for Ukrainians in the EU, as well as for continued cooperation with Ukraine by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The president’s draft law on amending Ukraine’s Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code regarding liability for illegal enrichment (No. 10110) was registered in parliament on Feb. 28.
The measure obliges pretrial investigation agencies to prove the legitimacy of assets acquired by officials and provides for the punishment for illegal enrichment, even when there are no signs of abuse of office and bribery.
