Boris Titov proposes to clarify the concept of “entrepreneurial activity”

The Ministry of Justice’s bill clarifying the rules for the detention of those accused of economic crimes is “far from the expectations” of the business community. This was stated to Vedomosti by business ombudsman Boris Titov. He said that he conceptually supports the initiative, but his staff has studied the proposed amendments and is preparing its own amendments, which will be sent to the Ministry of Justice.

On August 18, the Ministry of Justice published draft amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CPC), according to which it is proposed to ban arrests for economic crimes of minor gravity, as well as to oblige the prosecutor to give consent to filing a petition for a preventive measure in the form of detention in a pre-trial detention center. The Ministry of Justice also proposes to reduce the maximum period of preliminary investigation (after which it must be closed or submitted to court) for businessmen from 12 to 6 months. It will be possible to extend the term “only in cases of special complexity of the criminal case.”

Titov believes that such amendments do not resolve the issue of a “full-fledged restriction” for placing entrepreneurs in custody. In his opinion, the Code of Criminal Procedure should specify clear conditions under which it will be simply impossible to send an entrepreneur to a pre-trial detention center. “A simple combination: a list of articles of the Criminal Code [по которым нельзя применять такую меру пресечения] and the status of an individual entrepreneur or a member of the management body of a commercial organization. And that’s enough to stop talking about a pre-trial detention center,” says Titov.

The head of the expert service of the office of the business ombudsman, Natalya Ryabova, among the positive aspects of the document, names the approval of the side of the prosecutor’s office of the investigation’s petition to the court to choose such a measure of restraint: “Without the prosecutor’s “visa”, the petition will not go to the court at all. Such a need is long overdue, and we have made appropriate proposals more than once.” Prosecutors are still speaking out on the issue of choosing a measure of restraint in court. One of the practicing lawyers, in a conversation with Vedomosti, suggested that it might be easier for the prosecutor not to give consent to the arrest within the framework of interdepartmental coordination than to openly object to the investigation in court.

The problem of relating crime to business or other economic activity is still unresolved, says Ryabova. This is due to the fact that the definition of entrepreneurial activity has different interpretations: “The Ministry of Justice proposes in the investigator’s petition to select a preventive measure to confirm his position that there is no connection between the crime and entrepreneurial activity. But the effectiveness of this norm is highly dependent on further law enforcement practice,” she analyzes. In addition, if a businessman is once placed under arrest “wrongly”, then the decision is automatically extended, Titov points out.

The Ministry of Justice proposes to prohibit the placement in custody of those accused of committing “non-serious” crimes, which are listed in Chapter 22 of the Criminal Code of Russia. At the same time, it also includes those that are not entrepreneurial, Ryabova notes. Among these compositions – Art. 169 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on obstruction of legitimate business activities, she noted.

The Federal Chamber of Lawyers (FPA) welcomed the initiative of the Ministry of Justice, its president Yuri Pilipenko told Vedomosti. According to him, “inadequately” when for the theft of 1 million rubles. they impose a significantly more serious punishment than for murder, and therefore the amendments made will have a positive effect on the economic situation of the country.