UKRAINE Law and Practice Contributed by: Denys Bugay, Volodymyr Vashchenko, Denys Shkarovsky and Oleksandr Lukianenko, VB Partners
3. White-Collar Offences 3.1 Criminal Company Law and Corporate Fraud Ukrainian legislation does not specifically address cor - porate fraud offences separately from general criminal law. However, within the corporate context, the fol - lowing general offences are commonly encountered. Fraud (Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) Fraud involves deceitfully taking someone else’s prop - erty or acquiring property rights through deception or breach of trust. Aggravating circumstances include: • commission by a group of individuals or an organ - ised group; • during a state of war or emergency; • in large or especially large amounts; and • using electronic computing equipment unlawfully. Depending on the existence of aggravating circum - stances, the punishment for fraud ranges from three to 12 years’ imprisonment, or a fine from UAH34,000 (EUR700) to UAH136,000 (EUR2,800). Depending on the presence of aggravating factors, the penalty for fraud is three to 12 years of imprisonment or a fine of between UAH3.028 million (EUR66,400) and UAH12.112 million (EUR265,800). Misappropriation, Embezzlement or Seizure of Property (Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) Misappropriation This involves illegally retaining or withholding property that was lawfully possessed by another, intending to use it for personal gain or the benefit of others. Embezzlement This involves unlawfully spending or transferring prop - erty entrusted to or managed by the offender. Appropriation This involves illegally transferring property for person - al use that was not originally entrusted to the offender but that was managed owing to their official position.
• Furthermore, an internal investigation must not violate the right to privacy. In Ukraine, unlawful collection, use, or disclosure of private information – including personal data – constitutes a criminal offence. With regards to interaction with law enforcement authorities, companies are not legally obliged to pro - vide the results of their internal investigations. 2.6 Prosecution The pre-trial investigation concludes with the inves - tigator preparing an indictment, which must be approved by the prosecutor before being submitted to the court. In exceptional cases, the prosecutor may prepare the indictment if they disagree with the ver - sion submitted by the investigator. Once the indictment is filed, the prosecutor represents the public prosecution in court. For corruption-related crimes, the prosecution is led by a prosecutor from the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. For other white-collar crimes not involving corruption, the Prosecutor General’s Office handles the prosecution. The role of the prosecutor is to present and substanti - ate the charges in court to secure the criminal liability of the accused. If, during the trial, the prosecutor determines that the evidence does not support the indictment, they are obligated (in consultation with a higher-level prosecu - tor) to withdraw the indictment. The court is responsible for deciding whether an indi - vidual will be held criminally liable or whether criminal law measures will be applied to a legal entity, based on the merits of the case. 2.7 Deferred Prosecution Deferred prosecution agreements do not currently exist under Ukrainian law, and their introduction into Ukraine in the near future seems unlikely.
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