The HRC proposed not to imprison those who paid damages for economic crimes

Kirill Kabanov, a member of the Human Rights Council under the President of Russia, told RIA Novosti that the HRC proposes not to imprison those who committed an economic crime if they have fully compensated for the damage.

“We need to understand what kind of (economic) “Kommersant”) crimes, especially where there is compensation for damages determined by the court, what is the point of keeping a person behind bars? The person has already compensated for the damage even to a greater extent. We will definitely talk about this in our position,” said Mr. Kabanov.

The HRC member added that the victim would perceive the release of a person who committed an economic crime but did not compensate for the damage as social injustice. For this reason, Mr. Kabanov noted, all the nuances associated with the commission of this category of crimes must be considered and spelled out separately. He said that the HRC is now discussing its position on this issue with professionals, investigators and lawyers.

On December 4, 2023, following a meeting of the HRC, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government, the State Duma, the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor General’s Office, with the participation of the Human Rights Council and the Public Chamber, to analyze law enforcement practice on non-violent crimes and, if necessary, propose measures to mitigate it.

January 17, 2024 State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin instructed several committees of the lower house of parliament to work out options for implementing the president’s instructions. He noted that the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy needs to be involved in this work, “since we are often talking about crimes under economic charges.”

Yesterday, March 19, the head of the Human Rights Council Valery Fadeev said “RIA News”that the Human Rights Council and other institutions are developing proposals to humanize the Criminal Code. In particular, they are discussing which articles of the Criminal Code can reduce the severity of punishment, he clarified.

Erdni Kagaltynov