Denis Pushilin the Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic stressed the importance of combating corruption for the successful development of the Republic at the counter-corruption meeting which took place early in February this year. He stated: ‘We have set ourselves the task of economic growth. Corruption is one of the serious obstacles to enterprise development and investment’. According to the Head of the Republic, the role of law-enforcement bodies and the judiciary in the process of fight against corruption is the most important.
In the judiciary the anti-corruption measures are carried out in different directions.
According to A. Kim the Chairman of the Supreme Court, corruption is a serious challenge for any state and society, because it discredits and undermines the authority of the government in the eyes of the population, touches the legal rights and interests of citizens, affects the stability and wellbeing of the population.
Therefore, among the judicial staff are regularly carried out the preventive measures to avoid the arising of personal agendas of employees near relation in discharging their duties that may cause conflict of interest. The Temporary Qualification Board of Judges of the Donetsk People’s Republic will check how the judges respect legal provisions aimed at the prevention of conflict of interest or personal agendas during the administration of law and off-duty relations.
The closest attention is also given to the requests from persons, which contain information about the facts of corruption offenses committed by judges and other judicial staff of the Donetsk People’s Republic. However, the main counter-corruption way is the consideration by the courts of the Donetsk People’s Republic of criminal cases with respect of persons for committing corruption crimes as well as cases of administrative corruption infractions.
In particular the courts of Donetsk People’s Republic were considering 129 criminal cases in respect of 195 persons for committing corruption crimes according to the part 3 of the article 165 "Swindling committed by a person through his official position, as well as on a large scale", the article 334 "Abuse of Official Powers", the article 338 "Exceeding of Official Powers", the article 343 "Bribe-Taking", the article 344 Bribe-Giving" and the article 345 of the Criminal Code of the Donetsk People’s Republic "Mediation in Bribery" (including cases under the articles 364, 365, 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) in 2019. Last year the courts have considered 39 cases in respect of 55 persons resulting in 29 judgments on cases in respect of 43 persons (4 of them were justified), 3 judgments of dismissal on cases in respect of 3 persons and 7 cases in respect of 9 persons were returned on additional investigation. 2 criminal cases in respect of 2 persons were handed over in accordance with the jurisdiction (to the Supreme Court as the court of first instance). It should be noted that the principle of open trial is always observed.
The specific examples of considered criminal cases in respect of persons for committing corruption crimes can affirm the aforementioned.
So, Mr. O, who worked previously as the head of Khartsyzsk Department of the Ministry of the Internal Affair of the Donetsk People’s Republic, was found guilty by the inter-district court of Khartsyzsk of exceeding of official powers in violation of the article 338 part 1 of the Criminal Code of the Donetsk People’s Republic. He was sentenced to a fine in the amount of 25, 000 rubles.
The court found out that the Mr. O., being the functionary, has committed intentional acts that clearly went beyond his powers and caused substantial violation of the rights and legitimate interests of citizens in the form of the illegal use of persons serving administrative penalty, for household work in a private farm. Besides he illegally released this offender from serving administrative punishment on parole, after which this very offender committed a crime of average gravity. Thus the credibility and prestige of the public authority, namely Khartsyzsk Department Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Donetsk People’s Republic was damaged.
Mr. T., who held previously the post of the head of administration of the town Komsomolskoye in Starobesheve Raion, was found guilty by the Voroshilovsky inter-district court of Donetsk of bribe-taking by the head of a local self-government body in violation of the article 343 part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Donetsk People’s Republic. He was sentenced to a fine in the amount of 7, 735, 000 rubles in the state income, with disqualification from holding positions in the public service, in local governments of the Donetsk People's Republic for a three-year term.
The court found out that in August 2017 Mr. T. the former head of administration of the town Komsomolskoye following the aim to improve his material well-being informed in his office Mr. V. about the desire of other entrepreneurs to rent premises which wanted Mr. V., and that he (Mr. T. the defendant in the criminal case) could ensure the Mr. V.’s victory in a tender with subsequent conclusion of rental contract of the located in Komsomolskoye premises for a bribe in an amount of 2, 000 US dollars. Mr. V. was forced to agree to give the bribe in the amount of 2, 000 US dollars for winning the tender and conclusion of the rental contracts, understanding that in case of refusal to provide monetary funds to the functionary – the head of the local self-government body (later the defendant in the criminal case) he wouldn’t secure the loan of uninhabited premises. However, recognizing the unlawfulness of Mr, T.’s requirements, he went to the police and filed an application and agreed to help the law enforcement officials to expose Mr. T.
Mr. Zh. was found guilty by the Gorlovka inter-district court of bribe-giving on a large scale to functionary for committing obviously illegal actions not owing to circumstances beyond the control of the guilty person (attempt) in violation of the article 29 part 3, the article 344 part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Donetsk People’s Republic. He was sentenced to deprivation of liberty for a five-year term with a fine in the amount of 28, 723, 604 rubles. On the basis of article 73 of the Criminal Code of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the punishment assigned to a citizen Zh., recognized as the probation period of 2 years.
The court found out that Mr. Zh. being in the office of a high-ranking functionary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the of Donetsk People’s Republic, knowing that he was in front of the functionary of the law enforcement body with the authority, realizing his criminal intent, aimed at bribe-giving to the functionary for committing obviously illegal actions and aware of the wrongfulness of his actions, deliberately offered to the functionary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs 2012 year model Volkswagen Passat, worth of 478 726,74 rubles and then personally, intentionally, put on the table before the functionary the customs and registration documents for the vehicle in order to shield from prosecution his daughter and the daughter of his friend from prosecution who were taken to the police office by subordinate officers of the functionary. Mr. Zh. was unable to complete his criminal intent aimed at the bribe-giving on the large scale to the functionary for committing obviously illegal actions not owing to circumstances beyond his control because the functionary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs refused to take bribes, and Mr. Zh. was arrested by the police.
In addition to the criminal cases there are the administrative cases for committing corruption infractions. That is why the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic supported the introduction of the institution of public censure for wrongdoing committed by the functionaries and proposed to make more transparent their professional activities at the counter-corruption meeting conducted by the Head of the Republic this February. And statistics on administrative cases for committing corruption infractions show the advisability of the proposal. In 2019 the district, city and inter-district courts of the Donetsk People’s Republic were considering 37 administrative cases for committing corruption infractions (under the articles 172-4, 172-5, 172-7, 172-9 of the Code of Administrative Infractions of Ukraine) in respect of 37 persons resulting in 28 judgments in respect of 28 persons among which 25 judgments on imposition of an official reprimand cases in respect of 25 persons and 3 judgments of cassetur breve in respect of 3 persons.
Besides, according to the court decisions 8 administrative cases in respect of 8 persons were returned for appropriate preparation.
In 2019 the Supreme Court of the Donetsk People’s Republic revised as appellate 3 decisions on cases of administrative infractions (according to the article 172-7 of the Code of Administrative Infractions of Ukraine) resulting in 1 judgment left unchanged; 1 judgments of cassetur breve because of lapse of time for administrative punishment) and 1 decision canceled with the direction of the case materials for a new judicial review.
As an example is the administrative case under the article 172-4 of the Code of Administrative Infractions of Ukraine (“Violation of Part-Time Service Restriction and Combining with Other Types of Activities”). On the 9th February 2019, Mr. M. was found guilty by the Voroshilovsky inter-district court of Donetsk of committing infraction in violation of the article 172-4 part 2 of the Code of Administrative Infractions of Ukraine. An administrative penalty was imposed on him in the form of a fine of 3, 400 rubles with confiscation of the income received from such activities.
It was found out that M., being the acting Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Donetsk People’s Republic from the 6th November, 2017 and being authorized to perform the functions of the state, was a member of LLC Construction Department Domenstroy with a share in the authorized capital of 49 %, which violated article 7 of the Law of Ukraine "On the principles of preventing and combating corruption". He left the founders of this enterprise by selling the share and making the corresponding changes in the constituent documents only on the 5th January 2018.
Thus, the timely detection and suppression of corruption offenses in the state contributes to the eradication of corruption, and the inevitability of punishment contributes to the development of aversion to corruption in society, which should become a common task for all branches of government of the Donetsk People’s Republic.