SAPO: Number of defendants in anti-corruption cases who fled Ukraine is constantly growing
The number of people hiding from pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine in other countries is constantly growing, and this issue is now critical.
This was stated by the head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office Oleksandr Klymenko at a briefing, Censor.NET reports with reference to Ukrinform.
According to him, the SAPO has prioritized cooperation with international partners and the development of cooperation with similar law enforcement agencies in other countries.
"We have a rather big problem with the return to Ukraine of persons who are hiding from pre-trial investigation or court in the territories of other countries. The number of these people is constantly growing. And taking into account, among other things, the amount of resources these people have, they can hide from pre-trial investigation bodies for a long time. Therefore, this issue is critical and needs to be addressed," Klymenko said.
According to him, it is also important for the SAPO to improve the plea bargaining institution to make pre-trial investigation of top corruption cases more effective and to bring to justice the organizers of criminal schemes.
"The relevant draft law has already passed the first reading. We do not entirely agree with its interpretation on certain points. We provided our assessment of this draft law and offered the Law Enforcement Committee our vision of this law, how to make it most effective for anti-corruption agencies, etc.", said the head of the SAPO.
He said that another important issue for them is the abolition of the so-called Lozovyi amendments. "Among other things, I believe that it is enough to cancel the reasons for closing criminal proceedings due to the so-called missed pre-trial investigation deadlines and transfer the right to extend the investigation period after the person is notified of suspicion to the prosecutor. This can be a fairly simple draft law that will solve and save a huge number of criminal proceedings where billions of dollars in damages have been established," Klymenko said.
