However, Ukraine has to
take decision which would protect its interests and its compatriots
on the annexed territories.
As part of that plan, in
April Ukraine’s parliament passed the law on occupied territories in
order to protect the rights of Ukrainians who remained in Crimea.
Some norms of the law are
almost impossible to implement, because the nation can only de-facto
protect its citizens once it gains control over the territory. But
the adoption of this law, however clumsy it is, was still necessary
because according to international rules, a country should continue
to resist invader’s actions on its territory even if it doesn’t
respond to military aggression. Otherwise its
behavior will mean silent agreement.
There
are many changes Crimean residents will have to adapt to. For
example, the Crimean entrepreneurs will have to reconsider
their business strategies on occupied territories. They’ll have to
choose whether to continue working in Crimea as residents of Ukraine
or to accept the Russian law. Both options have their drawbacks.
If
a businessman decides to continue
working under Ukrainian law, the re-registration process for
transferring his business to the mainland will be simplified.
In this case businessmen
will be able to keep Ukrainian registration of their assets, while
their facilities in Crimea will be considered as foreign branches.
This option is a good choice mostly for big and small businesses.
But “patriotic
entrepreneurs” may face some difficulties like close attention of
the “Crimean government”, possible discrimination of rights and
freedoms as well as obstacles to doing business.
Those who want to work
within Russia, will have to liquidate their business in Ukraine to
avoid paying taxes twice.
The liquidation procedure
will take some time and procedural questions will have to be settled
on the mainland.
In case they opt for the
“Russian residence permit” Crimean entrepreneurs will lose
business partners from the mainland.
One of the regulations
within the the law on occupied territories says that real estate
deals on the territory of Crimea will not be recognized by Ukraine.
Crimeans can sell their
houses or apartments on peninsula under the Russian law, but such
deals will not be validated.
The mechanism of such
sales is not clear so far, because before selling something you
should record real estate ownership. It’s possible that Crimeans
and other owners of the “little home in Crimea” will have to
register real estate ownership again, but this time in conformity
with the Russian law. There are already calls in Russia “to take
money all the way on” for this type of registration from non-Russia
citizens.
Then, there are money
issues. Russian media report that Crimeans residents have lost their
deposits in Ukraine’s banks, but it’s not actually true. To get their
deposits back, Crimean residents have to apply to the mainland
branches of Ukrainian financial institutions to get their money back.
There are certain problems
for banks with regard of return of loans.
The procedure for
returning loans on occupied territories is quite complicated. But at
least 10 Ukrainian banks have started negotiations with Russian banks
to sell their credit portfolios.
There are some unpleasant
surprises for tourists contained in the law on occupied territories.
Foreigners who want to
have a holiday in Crimea will have to get a special permission from
Ukrainian law enforcement agencies. This regulation will be extended
to all who want to get to Crimea from the mainland either by car or
by train. Such novelty will further reduce the number of tourists
who want to spend their vacations in Crimea.
Roman Marchenko is managing partner of Illiashev and Partners law firm.
