The Parliament adopted an initiative on amnesty, which releases those who have criminally obtained state-owned agricultural land plots from criminal liability and punishment. The amnesty is going to extend only to those individuals who will, by 1 September 2024, have fully compensated the damage caused to the state as a result of the commission of the crime – returned the land plot or, if this is impossible, paid an amount equivalent to its value to the budget.

All those amnestied will be released from criminal liability, conditional sentences, or punishment, including unenforced fines. 

Articles of the Criminal Code covered by the amnesty:

• Fraud (Article 180) and/or making, sale, or use of a forged document, seal, stamp, or blank forms (Article 362);
• The amnesty also extends to joint principals and accomplices who have misappropriated land before September 1, 2023.

Preconditions for the extension of amnesty

• The amnesty only extends to those persons who will have fully compensated the damage caused to the state as a result of the commission of the crime by September 1, 2024;
• The compensation of damage is to take place by one of two methods: transfer of the agricultural land plot into state ownership or, if this is impossible, payment of an amount equivalent to the value of the land plot for the benefit of the state budget;
• The value is determined by an expert opinion, as of the commission of the crime;
• If the person has alienated a part of the land plot, he/she is to transfer the remaining part to the state and to pay an amount equivalent to the value of the alienated part to the budget;
• If an agricultural land plot has been mortgaged, the mortgage is to be lifted to transfer it to the state, or, if this is impossible, an amount equivalent to the value of the land plot is to be paid to the budget;
• If the person has already been convicted for a crime committed before September 1, 2023, and the state has already confiscated the land plot from him/her, he/she will be amnestied only if he/she confesses to the crime.

The amnesty will not extend to:

• Those persons who are public officials, as well as employees of state-owned enterprises, LEPLs and N(N)LEs, and have committed a crime using their official position; 
• Cases of crimes committed by an organized group; 
• Those persons who have alienated a criminally obtained state-owned agricultural land plot after September 1, 2023.

Procedures:                                    

• A person to whom the amnesty may extend is to apply to the National Agency of Public Registry;
• He/she is to submit the decision of the National Agency of Public Registry and/or the document confirming that he/she has deposited the amount on the account of the State Treasury to the relevant unit of the Prosecutor’s Office or a court and request that the amnesty extend to him/her;
• At the stage of investigation, the decision on amnesty in relation to the accused will be made by a prosecutor; 
• At the stage of the court proceedings of the criminal case, the decision of amnesty in relation to the accused will be made by the court;
• If the legal proceedings on the criminal case have been completed, the decision on amnesty in relation to the convicted person will be made by the regional (city) court that delivered the initial judgment in relation him/her.

The right to appeal: 

A person who has been amnestied has the right to appeal the decision on the application of amnesty in relation to him/her on a single occasion, within a period of 2 weeks after the decision was served on him/her, at the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, which is to consider the appeal within a period of 10 days.  

Time frames:

The amnesty is to be enforced until January 1, 2025.