Legal qualification of crimes on financing the aggressor

Abstract

Since the beginning of the russian-Ukrainian war, economic relations with the aggressor state have become the subject of increased public and political attention. In this context, accusations of cooperation with russia have often been used as a reason for political and economic pressure, including legitimate businesses. Such pressure has been caused, among other factors, by amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which expanded the range of actions for which Ukrainian businesses can be held liable for economic relations with the aggressor state. At the same time, the updated provi­sions of the criminal legislation have significant shortcomings, leading to the risk of arbitrary inter­pretation of these norms by law enforcement agencies. The purpose of this study is a comprehensive analysis of the legal regulation of changes in the Criminal Code of Ukraine which affect the degree of pressure on businesses, as well as the identifying problematic aspects of law enforcement and developing recommendations to minimize risks for entrepreneurial activity. The scientific novelty of the research is a systematic approach to studying the impact of changes in criminal legislation on Ukrainian entrepreneurship and the development of recommendations for improving the legal protection of entrepreneurs under conditions of increasing criminal pressure. According to the conducted research, the main problems in the area of pressure of law enforcement agencies on Ukrainian businesses are the following: the imperfection of legislative regulation (the lack of a clear definition of the objective side of crimes, for which business can be held accountable for economic ties with russia, the absence of specified procedural deadlines for issuing charges after the initiation of criminal proceedings). Other significant issues can include the arbitrary interpretation of laws by law enforcement officers, unjustified initiation of criminal proceedings, and corruption risks related to "ordered" cases. Based on the problems identified in the study, the following practical recommendations for improving legal regulation can be offered: establishing mandatory preliminary verification of facts before the registra­tion of criminal proceedings; introducing clear time limits for issuing charges after the initiation of a criminal proceedings; specifying the objective side of certain articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine to eliminate the possibility of ambiguous interpre­tation of these norms and abuses by law enforcement officers; improving the mechanisms of control over the actions of investigators and prosecutors. The research results may be used to improve Ukrainian legislation in the field of national security and economic stability protection, particularly regarding the protection of businesses from unlawful pressure and arbitrariness of law enforcement agencies.