UKRAINE Law and Practice Contributed by: Denys Bugay, Volodymyr Vashchenko, Denys Shkarovsky and Oleksandr Lukianenko, VB Partners
Aggravating factors include: • repeated offences; • commission by a group of persons or an organised group; • during a state of war or emergency; • in large or especially large amounts; and • abuse of official position. The punishment for these offences ranges from three to 12 years’ imprisonment, or fines from UAH34,000 (EUR700) to UAH85,000 (EUR1,700). Forgery (Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) Forgery involves: • the issuance of false official documents; • entering false information into official documents; or • otherwise falsifying documents. Aggravating circumstances include grave conse - quences resulting from the forgery. Sanctions for forgery include a fine of up to UAH68,000 (EUR1,400) or imprisonment for up to five years, together with an additional prohibition on engaging in certain activities for a period of up to three years. 3.2 Bribery, Influence Peddling and Related Offences Ukrainian criminal procedural legislation addresses active and passive bribery, applicable in both the pub - lic and private sectors. Public Sector Bribery Bribery in the public sector involves: • offering or promising an unlawful benefit to an offi - cial or a third party; • providing such a benefit; or • requesting that an official accept such an offer or demand in exchange for performing or refraining from certain actions in favour of the person making the offer or a third party.
This applies to officials of state or local self-govern - ment bodies in Ukraine, as well as to officials of foreign states, international organisations and foreign judges. The offence also involves offering or promising an unlawful benefit to auditors, notaries, appraisers or other professionals engaged in public services,
including: • experts; • arbitration managers; • private executors; • independent mediators; • labour arbitration members; or • arbitrators during their official functions.
Criminal liability arises for offering, promising or pro - viding such benefits, or for the acceptance of such offers or benefits by these professionals. Private Sector Bribery In the private sector, criminal liability arises for: • offering or promising an unlawful benefit to an offi - cial of a private legal entity; • providing such a benefit; or • requesting or accepting such a benefit in return for performing or refraining from specific actions. Abuse of Influence Criminal liability extends to both active and passive forms of abuse of influence. This includes offering, promising or providing an improper benefit to a per - son with the intent to influence decisions made by individuals authorised to perform state or local self- government functions. Acceptance of such offers or benefits also constitutes grounds for criminal liability. In summary, Ukrainian legislation criminalises both the act of offering or promising unlawful benefits and the acceptance of such benefits, encompassing both public and private sectors and extending to various forms of influence abuse. 3.3 Anti-Bribery Regulation There are no legislative requirements obliging private individuals or employees of private companies to report corruption. For them, it is a right rather than
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