HOT ANTICORRUPTION NEWS / Issue #122
November 1, 2019
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Today's issue:
- law on the reinstating of illicit enrichment is adopted;
- Cabinet of Ministers approved the selection panel for the position of the head of NACP;
- MP Dubnevych is stripped of the immunity;
- two new judges of the Constitutional Court have been selected;
- draft law #1008 on the judicial reform cleared for the signature of the President;
- the very first verdict of the High Anticorruption Court;
- one year without Katya: street actions commemorating Handziuk to take place on 4 November;
- recommended reading
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Law on the reinstating of illicit enrichment is adopted
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On 31 October 2019, the Parliament adopted the draft law #1031 reinstating the crime of illicit enrichment into the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Once the law comes into force, officials will be liable for possessing unjustified assets which exceed UAH 6,2 million (approx. $1,6 million). For this crime, they will face from 5 to 10 years in prison.
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Special confiscation of unjustified assets may also be applied. Unjustified assets valued up to $1,6 million will be seized in the civil process.
The High Anticorruption Court will consider the cases on the seizure of assets upon the appeal of the SAPO prosecutors.
For the reference, the illicit enrichment was decriminalized by the Constitutional Court in February 2019. As a result of this decision, NABU was forced to close 65 criminal proceedings.
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Cabinet of Ministers approved the selection panel for the position of the head of NACP
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On October 31, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the selection panel that is entrusted with the selection of the new Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention. The selection panel consists of three international experts delegated by international organizations and donors - Tilman Hoppe, Goran Klemencic, and Michael Sears, as well at three persons nominated by the Ukrainian government. They became well-known civil society representatives Vitaliy Shabunin, head of AntAC Board, Kateryna Ryzhenko from TI Ukraine, and Olha Kobylanska from Media Initiative for Human Rights. The panel is obliged by the law to select the new Head of NACP not later than December 18.
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MP Yaroslav Dunbevych is stripped of the immunity
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On October 31, the Parliament agreed to lift the immunity from MP Yaroslav Dubnevych and gave permission for his detention and arrest (with 229 votes).
35 MPs from the Sluga Narodu failed to support the consent for Dubnevych's arrest (see the list below).
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It has been the first vote for the lifting of the immunity in this convocation of the Parliament.
Yaroslav Dubnevych is suspected by NABU of large-scale embezzlement in the course of procurements of state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia. The estimated damage constitutes UAH 93 million (approx. $23 million). The investigation started in May 2016.
Currently, Dubnevych is a member of the "For the future" political group in the Rada, but in the previous convocation, he was in the Poroshenko's block.
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Two new judges of the Constitutional Court have been selected
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On October 29-30, the Congress of Judges selected two new judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (out of three vacant positions). They became Halyna Yurovska and Petro Filiuk. The latter is considered dishonest and of questionable integrity by the CSOs.
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Thanks to the wide campaign by the civil society, the judges abstained from selecting one more dishonest judge of the Constitutional Court, so the position is currently vacant.
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Draft law #1008 on the judicial reform cleared for the signature of the President
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On October 31, the Parliament rejected the proposed resolutions to cancel the adoption of the law #1008 on the reform of the judicial governance bodies, which had blocked its signing. Immediately, it was signed by the Speaker and sent for the President's signature. Earlier we explained the advantages and drawbacks of the law.
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The very first verdict of the High Anticorruption Court
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On October 30, the High Anticorruption Court delivered its very first verdict. The Court sentenced judge Nadia Posunsia for failing to submit electronic asset declaration in 2015 and 2016. She was punished with a maximum possible for this crime fine of UAH 51,000 (approx. $2,000) and prohibition to take public office for a year.
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The relatively easy case was sent to an ordinary court in February 2018 and since then did not progress much. The HACC received it in September 2019 and reached the verdict in a month.
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One year without Katya. Street actions commemorating activist Handziuk to take place on 4 November
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November 4 is the day of Katya Handziuk's death. Katya was brutally attacked on July 31, 2018, in Kherson. She fought for her life for 96 days.
Since then, only 5 lower-level performers of the crime who failed to escape in the first week after committing a crime have been prosecuted.
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The real organizers and instigators are known, but still free due to the ineffective work of law enforcement and prosecutors.
This Monday, November 4, we demand justice. We ask the President and the representatives of the new government to break their silence and restore justice. Now, this is their responsibility and time to act. The memorial rally will take place in Kyiv on Bankova Street and other Ukrainian cities at 19:00.
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