Ministry suggests no arrests of businessmen for light econ crimes

MOSCOW, Aug 18 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Justice Ministry has drafted amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, including a ban on arrests of businessmen for non-severe economic crimes, the authority said in a statement on Thursday.

Placement under custody will only be used if a businessman violates the previous pre-trial detention measure or tries to hide from court and the law enforcement authorities. The courts should prioritize pre-trial detention measures that allow businessmen to continue working, the ministry said.

The ministry also wants to make investigators coordinate requests for arrests of businessmen under investigations of economic crimes with the prosecutors, which should improve guarantees for suspects of economic crimes.

The maximum term of a pre-trial investigations of economic crimes should be halved to six from 12 months.

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