Gift for "Old Kazakhstan"? Proposals Made to Decriminalise Certain Crimes

The Parliament is considering a bill to optimize the Criminal, Criminal Procedure, and Penal Enforcement Codes. One of the norms provides for an alternative to incarceration — fines. Could this be an opportunity for "Old Kazakhstan"? Orda has looked into the matter.

The proposed amendment concerns certain economic crimes:

• Article 189 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Appropriation or Embezzlement of Entrusted Property of Others"
• Article 190 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Fraud"
• Article 234 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Economic Smuggling"
• Article 236 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Evasion of Customs Duties, Customs Duties, Taxes, Special, Anti-dumping, Countervailing Duties
• "Article 245 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Tax Evasion and (or) Other Mandatory Payments to The Budget from Organizations"

The Ministry of Justice explains that having a proportionate punishment and creating an alternative for certain criminal offenses is necessary. 

The application of a many-fold fine is a more effective economic measure without increasing the prison population. For other economic crimes (for example, economic smuggling), fines in the MCI are now applied, which is not a proportionate punishment in relation to the damage caused to the state. The introduction of many-fold fines will help resolve these issues,  the Ministry of Justice said.

The Financial Monitoring Agency states that fines range from two to ten times the damage.

In the current Criminal Code, fines as an alternative punishment are already provided for in the following articles:

• Part 1 of Article 235-1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Illegal Export, Sending and Transfer of Currency Assets from The Republic of Kazakhstan"
• Part 3 of Article 245 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Tax Evasion and (or) Other Mandatory Payments to The Budget from Organizations"
• Parts 2, 3, 5, 6 of Article 253 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Commercial Bribery"
• Part 3 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Organization of Illegal Gambling Business"
• Article 366 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Receiving a Bribe"
• Article 367 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Giving a Bribe"
• Article 368 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Mediation in Bribery".

No Danger to Society?

Majilis deputy Snezhanna Imasheva believes isolating criminals dangerous to society is necessary. Economic crimes, in her opinion, are not severe enough:

Economic crimes are essentially white-collar crimes. They cause economic damage to the state. But in fact, the people who committed these crimes are not a physical danger to society. Therefore, when choosing a punishment, you need to look at the personality of the criminal and their desire to improve. If he shows remorse, is ready to compensate for the damage, and pay a fine, then why not? Moreover, fines are multiples of the crimes. Everything they stole will have to be returned. And if they did, why isolate them from society? Let them live and work. This concerns economic crimes.

Imasheva added that work on the introduction of alternative punishments for economic crimes began 10 years ago:

There was a time when there were 60 thousand people incarcerated, now there are more than 30 thousand, that is, almost half as many. At that time, they were immediately imprisoned for every little thing. Both international organizations and our experts have drawn attention to this. To the fact that our criminal legislation has been very repressive since Soviet times. Then the policy on punishment began to change. The main thing for the criminal is that they get better. The second task is to compensate for the damage. And concerning isolation, you must examine how physically dangerous they are to society. And that doesn't mean you've evaded responsibility. In any case, being prosecuted will stay with you all your life.

Gift for "Old Kazakhstan"?

Could this present "Old Kazakhstan" with the opportunity to go unpunished? Some of the former president's confidants have indeed sidestepped prison. For instance, Nursultan Nazarbayev's nephew, Samat Abish, received eight years of probation for what he did during the January Events. The crime is not economic, but even more severe, thus only creating more questions. There are other examples where remorse has become the key to freedom. 

Snezhanna Imasheva believes that the law has nothing to do with "Old Kazakhstan":

Well, you know, some representatives of the so-called "old Kazakhstan" are already serving their sentences in prison. As I have said, everything needs to be examined on a very individual basis. Including the amount of damage and the scale of the crimes. It's the court that chooses. I think we need to have a case-by-case approach. In my opinion, it is unlikely that this is done to ensure that representatives of the "Old Kazakhstan" escape punishment.

Lawyer Maxim Mostovich, meanwhile, says that these amendments will still lead to payments instead of punishment, including for the former elite:

Of course, this law will help to avoid real liability for many criminals.

The lawyer also does not consider such offenses harmless. Although the offenders' actions do not cause physical harm, they can result in enormous damage.

And for many who have lost their last savings, their only home, or just a large amount of money that they have been saving up with hard work for many years, such losses are simply irreparable. Victims of such criminals experience quite significant moral and physical suffering: families break up, people lose their health, commit suicide, the lawyer said.

Another vital aspect is society being built on people's trust in each other. While committing economic crimes, the perpetrators abuse the trust of others.

They thereby destabilize society, forcing fewer and fewer people to trust each other. Imagine a society with a complete lack of trust in each other. Complete chaos, the right of the powerful. Consequently, their actions make it impossible to satisfy one of the basic human needs — the need for security. That is why such crimes are no less dangerous to society than crimes against a person: causing serious harm to health, sexual assault, torture, murder,
 he noted.

The bill is still under consideration in Parliament.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova

DISCLAIMER: This is a translated piece. The text has been modified, the content is the same. Please refer to the original piece in Russian for accuracy.