Parliament to improve procedure for asset forfeiture for grave offences

The amendments will allow applying special asset forfeiture to separatists and those who undermine the national security and defense.

As the Ukrayinska Pravda (Ukrainian Truth) media outlet reports, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has passed the bills, allowing attachment and special forfeiture of assets of the persons suspected of serious crimes.

The bill No. 2540 was supported as a basis by 232 MPs, while the bill No.2541a associated with it was supported by 229 MPs.

Justice Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Petrenko noted that adoption of these amendments would allow applying special asset forfeiture to separatists and those who undermine the national security and defense.

According to the Center of combating corruption, the changes, stipulated in the draft law No. 2540, will let an investigator attach the property at early stage, when there is no suspect yet, as well as property, registered for third parties.

If the bill No. 2541a is passed as a whole, the Civil Code will get the provision on a bona fide purchaser, which will indicate that he or she can not be the person who acquired the property and knew that it could be criminal asset. In addition, the bill provides for expansion of the boundaries of applying special forfeiture to all intentional crimes.

As a reminder, the adoption of laws aimed at improving the procedures for asset forfeiture is one of the requirements of liberalization of the visa regime with the European Union.