The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported the bill on preventing threats to national security associated with the excessive influence of persons with significant economic or political weight in public life (oligarchs), the so-called. “law on de-oligarchization.”
Some 279 MPs in total voted for the bill at a session on September 23, of which 229 were representatives of the Servant of the People faction.
According to the law, the basis for inclusion in the register of oligarchs, which is formed and maintained by the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), are any three of four conditions: significant influence on the media, participation in political life, beneficial ownership of a monopoly company and a fortune of over 1 million of minimum cost of living (about $83 million at the current exchange rate).
The NSDC makes a decision on recognizing a person as an oligarch on the basis of a proposal from the Cabinet of Ministers, a member of the NSDC, the National Bank (NBU), the State Security Service (SBU) or the Antimonopoly Committee. Oligarchs are included in the register no later than three days from the date of the NSDC relevant decision.
The bill stipulates that ten working days before the consideration of the issue at the NSDC meeting on recognizing a person as an oligarch, the NSDC apparatus sends a message about such a meeting to the place of his registration. In turn, the person who is going to be recognized as an oligarch, no later than five working days before the relevant meeting of the NSDC, has the right to provide personal explanations and other documents in writing.
The register also includes information on declarations of contacts of persons who communicated with the oligarchs or their representatives. The registry is an information and communication system intended to be made public.
Persons included in the register of oligarchs are prohibited, in particular, from making contributions in the form of their own funds to support political parties to the electoral funds of candidates (except for their own electoral fund), political parties during the electoral process, to buy objects of major privatization, to finance any political campaign or holding meetings and demonstrations with political slogans. The oligarch included in the register is obliged to submit a declaration of the person entitled to perform the functions of the government or local government.
The law comes into force the next day after its publication and comes into force six months after the date of its entry into force. The law expires in ten years from the date of its entry into force.
