Publication date: 31.05.2024
Legal Aspects of Fighting Corruption and Legalization of Proceeds of Crime in Ukraine
Introduction
Corruption and money laundering are among the most serious threats to Ukraine's economic and social stability. They undermine trust in state institutions, contribute to the growth of crime and inequality, and negatively affect the investment climate. In this article, we will review the main legal aspects of the fight against corruption and money laundering in Ukraine, focusing on the current legislation and mechanisms for its implementation.
The main part
Legal framework
Ukraine has a developed legal framework for combating corruption and money laundering, which includes:
- The Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption" of October 14, 2014, No. 1700-VII, which defines the legal and organizational framework for the prevention of corruption in state bodies and enterprises.
- The Criminal Code of Ukraine, which contains a number of articles criminalizing corruption offenses (Articles 364-370) and money laundering (Article 209).
- The Law of Ukraine "On the Principles of the State Anti-Corruption Policy in Ukraine (Anti-Corruption Strategy) for 2020-2024", which defines strategic directions and measures of the state policy in the field of preventing and combating corruption.
- Law of Ukraine "On Prevention and Counteraction to Legalization (Laundering) of Proceeds of Crime, Terrorist Financing and Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction" of December 6, 2019, No. 361-IX.
Anti-corruption agencies
Ukraine has several specialized agencies responsible for fighting corruption and money laundering:
- The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is an independent law enforcement agency established to investigate corruption crimes committed by high-ranking officials.
- The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) is a structural unit of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine that provides procedural guidance and support to public prosecution in cases investigated by the NABU.
- The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) is a central executive body that implements anti-corruption policy, verifies declarations of public officials and monitors lifestyles.
- The State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine (SFMS) is an authorized body that carries out measures to counteract the legalization (laundering) of proceeds of crime.
Anti-corruption mechanisms
The main anti-corruption mechanisms in Ukraine include:
- Declaration of income and property: Public officials are required to submit electronic declarations of their income, assets and financial liabilities. The NACP verifies these declarations.
- Conflict of interest: The legislation provides for measures to identify and eliminate conflicts of interest in the activities of civil servants.
- Anti-corruption expertise: The NACP conducts anti-corruption expertise of legal acts to identify provisions that may facilitate or create conditions for corruption offenses.
- Anti-corruption programs: State and local governments develop and implement anti-corruption programs that include measures to prevent corruption and increase the transparency of their activities.
- Protection of whistleblowers: Ukrainian legislation provides for the protection of persons who report corruption offenses from possible negative consequences from employers or other persons. You may be interested in the following articles: legal advice, legal advice, analysis of documents, legal analysis of the situation, written advice, verification of documents by a lawyer, lawyers documents, online legal assistance, online lawyer, legal opinion, legal opinion of a lawyer, lawyer online.
Mechanisms for combating the legalization of proceeds of crime
The following mechanisms are used in Ukraine to combat money laundering:
- Financial monitoring: The State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine (SFMS) monitors financial transactions to detect and prevent money laundering. Financial institutions are required to report suspicious financial transactions to the SFMS.
- Freezing of assets: The legislation provides for the possibility of freezing assets if there is a suspicion that they were obtained through criminal means or are used to finance terrorism.
- International cooperation: Ukraine actively cooperates with international organizations, such as the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) and MONEYVAL, to exchange information and coordinate actions to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
- Regulation of the cryptocurrency market: Due to the growing use of cryptocurrencies for money laundering, Ukraine is implementing regulation of this market to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies for illegal financial transactions.
Conclusion.
The fight against corruption and money laundering is an extremely important task for Ukraine. Effective implementation of anti-corruption policy and anti-money laundering measures requires a comprehensive approach, including improvement of the legal framework, increased transparency and accountability of government agencies, active public engagement and international cooperation.
A significant role in this
Specialized anti-corruption agencies that investigate corruption crimes, verify public officials' declarations, and control financial transactions play a key role in the process. At the same time, it is also important to introduce mechanisms to protect whistleblowers, which contributes to more active detection and prevention of corruption offenses.
An effective fight against corruption and money laundering will help strengthen trust in state institutions, improve the investment climate and overall economic development of Ukraine. Only through joint efforts of the state, civil society and the international community can significant progress be made in this important area.
