One of the most favorite articles of the Criminal Code of law enforcement officers is the legalization of property obtained through crime. If there is a desire, it can be attached to almost any case related to an economic offense. Why this is an abuse - let's try to figure it out using the example of the so-called gas case.

This is stated in the author's article of the attorney and lawyer Volodymyr Bohatyr for the Glavcom publication, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

In the article, the lawyer notes that it is about the investigation into the seizure by the Novoyavorivska and Novorozdilska CHPPs of the Naftogaz’s natural gas and its improper use.

"They were supposed to produce thermal energy for heating and supplying hot water to the population, but instead the gas was used to produce electricity, which was sold to the state enterprise Enerhorynok. Since the combined heat and power plants are associated with MP Yaroslav Dubnevych, today the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SACPO) blame him for organizing the crime, provided for in Article 191 (Appropriation, embezzlement of property by abuse of office) of the Criminal Code. Legalization was added to this article (Article 209 of the Criminal Code). Interestingly, according to the accounting and financial statements, Naftogaz did not experience any losses from the performance of agreements with combined heat and power plants. Moreover, during the period under investigation, the company declared billions in profits, and its managers received annual bonuses of millions for their excellent work," the article says.

The author emphasizes that since the damage was not documented (it seems that it was calculated by the law enforcement officers themselves without taking into account primary documents, financial and accounting reports), there is no objective side, the event of the crime itself.

"Moreover, in October 2018, the head of the SACPO at that time, Nazar Kholodnytskyi, claimed that Ya. Dubnevych was not involved in gas fraud. At the same time, this did not prevent him from being suspected of legalizing property. Although the presence of the composition of the primary crime (object, objective party, subject and subjective party) is a necessary condition for the qualification of actions under Article 209 of the Criminal Code," the material states.

The convenience of this article, in the opinion of the author, lies in its obvious logic: if the subject somewhere received illegal income, he should legalize it.

"In practice, this results in the fact that even to a criminal misdemeanor or a minor crime combined with legalization (serious crime), stricter rules are applied. For example, it will be impossible to apply exemption from responsibility in case of effective remorse or change of circumstances. Limitation periods differ significantly. Procedural possibilities of the prosecution expand significantly, because it becomes possible to use secret actions. And most importantly, the severity of the punishment that threatens the person is taken into account when choosing a preventive measure. That is, the qualification under the article of legalization is an opportunity for additional measures to influence the suspect. Due to the prospect of losing his freedom in this way, they are trying to make him more docile," the author claims.

At the same time, the application of the article on legalization implies the need to comply with specific conditions related to the subject of laundering. In the presence of adequate protection, law enforcement officers often have difficulties with this.

Also in the article, the lawyer notes that today legalization is considered to be certain actions with property "in respect of which the actual circumstances indicate that it was obtained by criminal means." That is, in order to serve a person with suspicion of money laundering, it is necessary for there to already be a suspicion (or there were all grounds to declare it) of another crime, during which, according to the prosecution's version, the property that was the object of the offense was obtained.

"In the gas case, the situation is even more interesting. At the time of the events under investigation (2013-2017), there was another provision of the article, which provided for "committing a financial transaction or transaction with funds or other property obtained as a result of committing a socially dangerous illegal act." That is, at the time of the announcement of the suspicion under Article 209 of the Criminal Code, there should have been an indictment, which had acquired legal force. The legal aspect of this issue was explained in detail by the lawyer Semen Khanin,” the lawyer emphasized.

The article notes that since, according to the Criminal Code, criminal legal consequences are determined by the law in force at the time of the act, in the gas case, where the MP was served simultaneously with two suspicions under Article 191 of the Criminal Code and 209 of the Criminal Code, the investigators exceeded their authority. And the court has to deal with this.

"Why do such clear violations of the law occur in Ukraine? Unfortunately, representatives of law enforcement agencies often perceive business as an additional source of income. The Criminal Code is the key tool for this. And even its clearly incorrect interpretation and application gives investigators and operatives sufficient grounds to block the work of any enterprise. As for law enforcement officers, their activities are perceived as particularly dangerous during wartime, when it comes to enterprises that are strategically important for entire cities," the article emphasizes.

Thus, as a result of the NABU's work in the case of the Novoyavorivska and Novorozdilska CHPPs, losses from the activities of the managing enterprises, which today are forced to be covered by the state, were incurred. Although before the arrest and transfer of the CHPPs through the National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing, and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) to the manager, both CHPPs were profitable and paid taxes to the state budget.

At the same time, as indicated, millions of hryvnias of taxpayers and months and years of man-hours are spent on clearly harmful activities of state bodies. In order to spoil tons of paper, to carry out pointless investigative actions and operative measures, to which international partners join within the framework of legal assistance agreements.

"But the most disturbing thing is that "thanks" to the quality of the work of anti-corruption bodies, the cities of Novyi Rozdil and Novoyavorivsk were actually turned into a training ground for survival, where residents suffer, having lost a stable supply of heat and electricity in times that cannot be called calm. In addition, the law enforcement officers do not stop and try, within the framework of the same proceedings, to arrest and hand over the property of other enterprises, that are in no way related to the incriminated actions of Ya. Dubnevych, to the management of ARMA, thereby destroying the working business," the Glavcom article says.

https://ukranews.com/en/news/1015483-