In order to improve the business climate and minimize the risks of criminal prosecution of business entities, amendments have been made to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes of the Russian Federation. http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/document/0001202404060014

The authors of the bill noted that according to a number of articles of the Code of the Russian Federation, the amount of damage has not been indexed for several years, and therefore entrepreneurs have become more subject to criminal prosecution. For most large-scale economic crimes, damage and income will be considered damage, income or debt in the amount of 3.5 million rubles. (now 2.25 million rubles), and especially large 13.5 million rubles. (now 9 million rubles). Relevant amendments have been made to chapter 22 of the Criminal Code, as well as to a number of articles of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Federal Law No. 79-FL on April 6th of 2024, excludes liability for illegal entrepreneurship, that is, carrying out entrepreneurial activities without registration or accreditation, involving the extraction of income on a large scale. Responsibility for illegal entrepreneurship will occur only if the guilty person causes major damage to citizens, organizations or the state.

The changes will be retroactive and will entail mitigation of liability or exemption from liability of persons found guilty of committing crimes in the field of economic activity.

- Criminal prosecution always has serious consequences for an entrepreneur and is equivalent to closing a business. During the 10 years of work of the Institute for Business Protection in the Moscow Region, complaints about unjustified criminal prosecution and inaction of law enforcement agencies have always occupied leading positions. Business always has a lot of questions for law enforcement officers: how lawfully has a criminal case been opened and a businessman is being prosecuted? The situation is also under the control of the Federal Commissioner for Business Protection Boris Titov.  We, in turn, also "keep our finger on the pulse." The Expert Commission on Criminal Prosecution of Entrepreneurs, established by us in 2020, regularly initiates proposals to amend the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. Of course, the changes introduced into the legislation will make life easier for entrepreneurs and will have a positive impact on the development of a comfortable business climate, both in the country and specifically in the Moscow Region" -Vladimir Golovnev stressed.