Interfax: Russia’s economic amnesty applies to over 2,300 people

(Interfax – February 4, 2014) The economic amnesty declared by the Russian State Duma in July 2013 has already been applied to over 2,000 people, the office of the Russian presidential commissioner for the businessmen’s rights Boris Titov said.

“As of February 4, the number of persons, regarding whom the State Duma resolution On Declaring Amnesty of July 2, 2013 was applied, has reached 2,314,” the commissioner’s office told Interfax on Tuesday.

People amnestied are convicts relieved from serving the rest of their term and individuals regarding whom criminal prosecution was stopped at the stage of the investigation.

“The current numbers of people pardoned and the sums of damages repaid show that the amnesty has overcome its time limit and its results have started to grow rapidly,” public commissioner for the businessmen’s rights on amnesty implementation, State Duma Deputy Oleg Denisenko said when commenting on the significant increase of in the number of people amnestied in January 2014.

“The flow of people amnestied is growing because the system – when courts reclassify a criminal case under Article 159 (fraud), which is not eligible for the amnesty, to two counts – Article 159.1 (fraud with loans) and Article 159.4 (fraud in the business sphere), to which amnesty is applicable – has started to work,” Titov told Interfax on January 14, 2014.

The amnesty will proceed and soon over 1,500 people will be pardoned over reclassified criminal cases on fraud, Titov said.

As of late 2013, over 1,500 people have been pardoned under the economic amnesty – they have returned property and repaid damages to affected parties in the amount of 1.6 billion rubles.