ST.PETERSBURG, June 21 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that offenders convicted of violent crimes and swindlers who cheated people should not be released under an amnesty campaign for tax-related crimes.
"People who committed violent crimes and threatened other people with violence; people convicted of crimes related to counterfeiting and those who cheated other people and took their apartments away, in short, swindlers and raiders should not rely on amnesty,” Putin told a news conference held within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.
According to Putin, the amnesty should concern only those offenders whose offences fall under the recently adopted laws on liberalization of economic crimes. They are first-servers who are not convicted of grave crimes. “We should certainly let such people out,” Putin went on to say.
The president approved a draft law on amnesty of businessmen and recommended the State Duma to pass it before the summer recess. Putin told the plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that first-servers convicted of business-related crimes who had either paid compensations to the aggrieved for the damage and losses or had agreed to do that should be included in the amnesty. “These citizens will see their convictions removed from official records,” Putin said.
"The decision on economic amnesty will not only restore justice but will give a signal to our control and supervisory bodies which have preserved the presumption of guilt when it comes to business,” Putin emphasized. He added that economic amnesty offered a good opportunity to reset a wide spectrum of public relations and the work of Russian law enforcement and judicial systems.
The State Duma is expected to gather for its last spring session on July 5.