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First 2 persons set free in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area under economic amnesty

The amnesty resolution came into force on July 4

MOSCOW, July 16 (Itar-Tass) - A 20-year-old girl and a 24-year-old man in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area were the first convicts to qualify for the economic amnesty announced by the parliament, and set free on Tuesday. "The girl and the man were convicted by Tyumen's Lenin district court under Article 30, Part 3 and Article 159.1 Part 2 /attempted loan fraud/ on June 4, 2013. They were sentenced to six months of community work, and the court also ordered to withhold 10 percent of their monthly salaries, the press service of the Federal Penitentiary Service told Itar-Tass.

"The young man was doing community work at the place of main employment, and the girl, who had been unemployed, was working in her residence area on a local self-rule body's assignment," the Federal Penitentiary Service said.

The amnesty resolution came into force on July 4.

The president submitted the draft resolution on June 25. It called for amnestying the persons who were being prosecuted or convicted for crimes in the field of entrepreneurship, or for other crimes the first time, as well as for dropping their criminal prosecution.

The amnesty applies to persons convicted under 27 articles of the penal code, including copyright law violations, illegal entrepreneurship, fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and non-repayment of loans. It also applies to the persons who were given suspended sentences or are on parole. The mandatory condition for qualifying for amnesty is meeting the obligation to return property or reimburse damages. Those who committed crimes with use of violence or threats of violence are not eligible.

Part 2 of Article 172 /illegal banking by organized group including large income derived therefrom/ was taken out of the bill.

The economic amnesty will be effective for six months from the day of coming into force. The number of those eligible for amnesty might range from 3,000 to 10,000.

Speaking at the Petersburg economic forum on June 21, President Vladimir Putin supported the idea of amnesty for entrepreneurs. "The decision about the economic amnesty is not only restoring justice. This decision is a signal to our regulatory and supervisory bodies that still maintain the psychology of the presumption of guilt of the business," Putin stressed.

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