Zelensky signs bill updating plea bargains

Source: Official website of Ukraine’s president

On Thursday, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky signed into law a bill that reworks Ukraine’s plea deals, and streamlines corruption investigations and trials.

The new law  provisions will allow reduced charges for those who agree to cooperate with prosectors, revealing their  accomplices or compensating damages. Meanwhile, courts may also impose hefty fines as additional penalties:

• For minor crimes: 20,000 to 120,000 hryvnias
• For serious crimes: 120,000 to 6 million hryvnias
• For especially serious crimes: 270,000 to 12 million hryvnias

In cases where cooperation ends up in a successful verdict, the court may approve confiscation of the defendant’s assets as part of the sentence. However, this mechanism excludes crime organizers, except the cases where a criminal ring organizer exposes another key figure.

A lighter sentence can be handed down in cases of minor crimes, or isolated crimes committed without accomplices, under the condition  the individual compensates damages, pays fines, and agrees to asset confiscation.

The Anti-Corruption Action Center said the new law update blocks top corruption organizers from simply paying their way out of accountability, as they must expose other major players to secure a deal. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) backed the policy as it can help them investigate and prosecute organized crime and corrupt officials swiftly and effectively.

This law also aligns with the European Union’s requirements tied to Ukraine’s latest 4 billion euro financial aid package