Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, a draft law on the confiscation of illegal assets of officials and the punishment for the acquisition of such assets.
Respective bill No. 10358 of June 3 on amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine on confiscation of illegal assets of persons authorized to perform the functions of state or local governments, and punishment for the acquisition of such assets has been developed together with national and foreign experts, according to the president's press service.
Read alsoTeam Zelensky vow restoration of liability for illegal enrichment
As UNIAN reported earlier, the Constitutional Court on February 26 ruled that Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal enrichment) was unconstitutional, and the article became null and void the day the court took its decision.
On February 27, the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said that all proceedings against corrupt officials would be closed after the ruling.
On February 28, the then President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko declared that he had instructed to urgently register a new bill in parliament on criminal liability for illegal enrichment. According to him, the article of the Criminal Code on illegal enrichment in the new draft law would be properly formulated.
On March 1, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) said that the Constitutional Court's ruling on unconstitutionality of Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code makes it impossible to establish signs of illicit enrichment in officials' assets declarations for 2015-2018.
According to Transparency International, Ukraine may even be stripped of its EU visa-free regime over the Constitutional Court's ruling on illegal enrichment.
On May 28, newly appointed Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Danyliuk said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would soon table a bill in parliament on criminal responsibility for illegal enrichment.
