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The Russian leadership is discussing a possible amnesty of businesspeople

The Russian leadership did not give up an idea of amnesty for businesspeople that can be timed to the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution, excluding several categories of convicts.

This week the consultations will begin between representatives of business ombudsman Boris Titov and the Presidential State Legal Directorate to draft an amnesty act on economic articles of the Criminal Code for businesspeople, co-chairman of the centre Business Without Corruption Andrei Nazarov told the Vedomosti daily and Titov confirmed this himself.

Last Thursday, Nazarov proposed this amnesty at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the business community, the newspaper recalled. The president named the idea underdeveloped, because on economic articles money counterfeiters can be convicted, as well as those, who export dual purpose materials. He proposed to take a balanced decision after the debates with the experts and the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Amnesty is a necessary act, but it should be prepared well, excluding those, whom the president named, therefore, it is premature to say about the number of those, which an amnesty act will embrace, a source in the Russian presidential administration told the Vedomosti daily. The ombudsman hurried too much to prepare an amnesty act by the Day of Businessman, but if an amnesty act is elaborated thoroughly, it will be possible to time the amnesty, for instance, to the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution in December 2013.

A working group is planned to form from the public union under the business rights commissioner, the Russian Presidential State Legal Directorate, the State Duma Committee for Legislation and representatives of the prosecutor’s offices, Titov said.

Andrei Nazarov noted that an amnesty bill is expected to hold that it embraces only businesspeople and hired workers, who committed crimes related with their professional activities.

The prison convicts, as well as the convicts with the sentences not related with the deprivation of freedom, can be relieved of punishment (with a conviction expunged), yet-not-to-be-investigated criminal cases and the criminal cases not tried in the courts will be terminated, Titov explained earlier.

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