"Under the current legislation of Ukraine, criminal liability for the offense is stipulated in Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine 'Accepting the Offer, Promise or Receipt of Illegal Benefits by an Official.' The article provides that the punishment is imprisonment for a term from eight to twelve years, with disqualification to hold certain positions or engagement in certain types of activity for up to three years, with confiscation of property and with special confiscation," the response says.
As of today, the maximum term of imprisonment under the current criminal laws in Ukraine is set at up to 15 years for serious crimes, including the deliberate deprivation of life, Poroshenko said.
"Amending one article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine only by toughening the punishment for civil servants up to twenty years of imprisonment may not match to the severity of the criminal offense compared to other crimes under the criminal law of Ukraine," he said.
"It's inevitability of the punishment rather than severity that influences the rate of bribery. And therefore judicial reform is a priority. Considering the above-mentioned, the question cannot be considered separately without an integrated approach to amending the existing criminal laws," Poroshenko said.
