“While the investigation is ongoing, the business already has a new manager, and operations are on hold”, — write: epravda.com.ua
Has your business caught someone’s eye? Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code “Assistance to an aggressor state” – get it, sign it. It does not matter whether there really is a “Russian footprint” in the company’s activities – we can deal with this later. And so far the most interesting: seizure of assets and corporations, blocking of economic activity, transfer to ARMA. It’s not that such a thing did not exist until today, it’s just that now manipulations with the qualification of criminal proceedings in which business appears have reached some previously unknown scale. I would compare the situation to how the Russian occupation forces are destroying our cities and villages. Some of them have a chance to be restored, and some have gone to hell forever. This is approximately the same with Ukrainian enterprises (read, the Ukrainian economy) today, some representatives of the law enforcement system. Advertisement: Advertisement: Read also: Unprecedented pressure of law enforcement officers on business Is this really the case and what do the numbers say? I am forced to state that the number of cases of this kind in our law firm has recently been growing literally in geometric progression. Here are some examples. Witch hunt No. 1. Call the investment girl! Our client is a foreign investor, an international holding from Estonia, which is the owner of an important enterprise for the Ukrainian energy industry. For the sake of fairness, I will note that this Ukrainian enterprise at one time really belonged to the Russians. However, even before 2022, the Estonian company became the owners. The Security Service of Ukraine, based on “iron” evidence, namely several posts on social media by one of the company’s former shareholders about “8 years of Bambili Danbas”, started an investigation against a Ukrainian company owned by Estonians. I would like to emphasize here that, firstly, the authenticity of the author’s posts and page is not confirmed by anything at all. But even missing the moment with the lack of such evidence that would prove that the account is valid and really belongs to that woman, the key word in all this is ex. In other words, if she does not write on social networks, she has not had a relationship with a Ukrainian enterprise with a foreign owner for a long time. But this does not stop our law enforcement officers in their “desperate struggle” with Kremlin agents, and they enter data into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations. As a result, an investigation has been going on for two years, property has been seized, economic activity has been blocked, the assets have been transferred to ARMA, which, in turn, found a manager who does nothing at the enterprise. What is it for the economy? Production stopped, people were reduced, although before the intervention of individual representatives of law enforcement agencies, despite the large-scale war, the investor was really engaged in modernization – expensive unique equipment was being prepared for launch. And here it would be possible to somehow justify the actions of the security service of Ukraine, which should stand guard to protect the Ukrainian economy from any influence of the aggressor country. But during the two years of the investigation, no sanctions of the National Security Service of Ukraine were imposed on this enterprise, and the qualification for assisting the aggressor state imperceptibly disappeared. Currently, the client is charged with tax evasion. And the most interesting thing is that the amount of allegedly unpaid taxes is not even enough to investigate it within the framework of criminal proceedings. Moreover, no tax audits were conducted, there is no appropriate examination that would confirm non-payment of taxes. A rhetorical question: what foreign investor in his right mind, having learned about possible similar situations and risks, would come to Ukraine? Unfortunately, no “newly created” bodies, such as the investment board or the Council of Entrepreneurs at the President’s Office, will help if the state as such lacks a culture of protecting investors and their assets. №2 Passed back We had a client – a company engaged in problem asset management. Its activities were also investigated by the SBU. Initially, they were accused of establishing control over strategic enterprises (I note that none of the enterprises whose debts were purchased by this company were classified as strategic). During this investigation, all assets and property of the company were seized, and suspicions of aiding the aggressor state “flew”. But in the end, everything ended in the traditional way – tax evasion. Again, unproven. Should we say what the financial consequences of two years of seizure of his assets caused to the client’s business? No. 3. A game of anticipation And finally – a story with a happy ending. So far, happy endo. At our client – a car dealer – the SBU also tried to find “Russian traces” due to the fact that in the early 2000s one of the founders of this business was (!!!) a relative of a currently sanctioned person. It meant that the client’s business partnership with the traitor’s relative ended long before the full-scale Russian invasion. Already having considerable experience in this kind of work, we decided to go ahead. And they themselves initiated the necessary investigative actions, including questioning of company officials. The evidence base collected and provided by us has stopped the investigation for now. But this case is rather an exception. After all, in a country where the lion’s share of business before the Revolution of Dignity in one way or another had connections with the Russians, anyone can “sewn” the so-called “Russian footprint” at will. If someone suddenly got the impression that I advocate turning a blind eye to the possible presence of “Kremlin agents” in the Ukrainian economy, then this impression is completely false. As a person involved in certain processes in the country, the purpose of which is to find the most effective ways to destroy the enemy, I sincerely believe that Russians, even those who somehow indirectly try to interfere in any spheres of life in Ukraine, should be removed from these processes. So, for example, I consider the sanctions mechanism, according to which the assets of the representatives of the aggressor country and domestic traitors are transferred to the state income, quite effective. But I also emphasize that the way in which (unfortunately) a fairly significant part of the law enforcement system currently works, we are simply firing a “control” shot into the viability of our already extremely weak economy. Causes and consequences I think we can leave aside the question of whether it is a lack of qualification of individual Ukrainian law enforcement officers, or whether it is done with a certain dishonest goal of personal enrichment, including and in the interests of third parties. I believe that everything is so obvious, why in some cases related to profitable businesses, qualifications are deliberately overstated. And, unfortunately, representatives of absolutely all law enforcement agencies of the country commit this sin. Given that there is no proper reaction to this kind of action, this is perceived as a signal that it is possible and necessary to do so: first one abused, then another saw and began to do the same. As a result, it is like a viral disease that affects everyone and leads to destruction. Destruction of working companies, dismissal of people, reduction of the tax base. After all, try to financially withstand several years of targeted pressure and seizures of your assets. Filters Filters that should ensure the avoidance of such arbitrariness: Prosecutor’s office, as and supervises the activities of pretrial investigation bodies. But she tolerates it. In general, the latest scandals related to the prosecutor’s office once again prove that this system needs a complete reboot. Investigating judges in general could stop prosecutors, who try to arrest everything where it is necessary and where it is not necessary. But for some reason they avoid such decisions. Real responsibility for errors of the investigation in establishing the qualification of the crime. Currently, law enforcement agencies can investigate and block the activities of enterprises for years, but no one is responsible for their own mistakes in determining qualifications, and therefore for bringing businesses to financial and organizational difficulties (and this is the fate of people!). Clear terms of the pre-trial investigation have been established. If previously the term of pre-trial investigation of criminal proceedings where suspicion was not reported was 18 months, now, after changes to the Criminal Procedure Code, this term is endless. And the question is: what can be investigated after, for example, ten years since the crime was committed? The Prosecutor’s Office, which supervises the activities of pre-trial investigation bodies. But she tolerates it. In general, the latest scandals related to the prosecutor’s office once again prove that this system needs a complete reboot. Investigating judges in general could stop prosecutors, who try to arrest everything where it is necessary and where it is not necessary. But for some reason they avoid such decisions. Real responsibility for errors of the investigation in establishing the qualification of the crime. Currently, law enforcement agencies can investigate and block the activities of enterprises for years, but no one is responsible for their own mistakes in determining qualifications, and therefore for bringing businesses to financial and organizational difficulties (and this is the fate of people!). Clear terms of the pre-trial investigation have been established. If earlier the period of pre-trial investigation of criminal proceedings where suspicion was not reported was 18 months, now, after changes to the Criminal Procedure Code, this period is endless. And the question is: what can be investigated after, for example, ten years since the crime was committed? To get new evidence after so many years is an unlikely story. Relying on the memory of witnesses after so much time is not a very reliable strategy either. It is, in fact, the same as if a doctor spent five years treating a disease that can be cured in a couple of months. As you can see, none of these filters work well enough today. But I am sure that it is not so difficult to repair or replace them.
