The Verkhovna Rada approved bill 5599, aimed at fighting the Ukrainian oligarchs.
279 deputies voted for the document, of which 229 are members of the Servant of the People faction.
He also received the support of the parties "Voice", "Trust" and "For the Future".
The official name of the initiative is the law "On the prevention of threats to national security associated with the excessive influence of persons with significant economic or political weight in public life (oligarchs)."
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov said that the adoption of the law on oligarchs opens a new page in the history of Ukraine.
According to him, the country "must get rid of the clan-oligarchic system once and for all."
“This is a question of the formation of our country as a state and our future.
Either the situation will persist when a dozen people concentrate in their hands 90% of the national wealth, or we will try to build a state of equal opportunities and equal access, ”Danilov wrote on his Facebook page.
"Political pollution"
Recall that bill 5599 was introduced to the Verkhovna Rada on June 2 by the President of Ukraine.
A few days later, speaking at the Ukraine 30. Ecology forum, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his course was aimed at eradicating the influence of oligarchs on politics in the country and the decision-making process.
He noted that if he enlists the support of the parliament, it means that the Ukrainian society is on his side.
“I don't want us to have oligarchs.
Moreover, the problem is not only in managing the economy or influencing the policy of Ukraine inside - it is also a big political pollution of the image of Ukraine abroad.
Therefore, I know that during my cadence we will get rid of all the oligarchs.
I gave my word, and I am moving towards this, ”Zelensky said.
The presidential bill provides for the creation of a register of persons whose activities fall under certain criteria.
The list should be drawn up by the National Security and Defense Council on the basis of submissions from the Cabinet of Ministers and other authorities.
The criteria for inclusion in the register are political participation, significant influence on the media, beneficial ownership of a monopoly company.
Another sign of an oligarch is the state of over 1 million living wages.
Currently, this figure is about 2.3 billion hryvnia (6.3 billion rubles).
Before the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council regarding the inclusion in the list, the candidate, previously ranked by the Ukrainian authorities as an oligarch, must receive a corresponding notification.
By law, he has the right to provide explanations and other documents.
People who find themselves on the register are prohibited from funding political parties, including through intermediaries, and from participating or becoming beneficiaries in the privatization of large assets.
Those who have been recognized as oligarchs retain the right to interact with civil servants, at the same time they must warn about their status.
The register itself will be an information and telecommunication system.
In addition to data on oligarchs, declarations will be entered into it - information about contacts of citizens with them or their representatives.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and oligarch Igor Kolomoisky (pictured to the right of Zelensky)
Reuters
© Ukrainian Presidential Press Service
Representatives of the political leadership of the republic - the president, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, deputies, members of the government and other officials - must submit such reports.
They will contain a summary of the conversation, indicate the date and place of the meeting.
Declarations must be submitted no later than the next day after contact.
The law will be in effect for ten years.
As stated in the text of the document, its goal is "to overcome the conflict of interests caused by the merger of politicians, media and big business, to ensure the national security of Ukraine in the economic, political and information spheres, to protect democracy, to ensure state sovereignty."
On September 17, shortly before the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada, a number of changes were made to the bill.
So, in the document the concept of "representative of the oligarch" appeared, however, it was not interpreted.
In addition, the term “political participation” was expanded in the text of the updated draft law.
Also, the register will include data on businesses and parties that the oligarchs influence.
In addition, members of the list were banned from financing campaigns and protests.
On September 22, in an interview with reporters, the adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that Zelensky's team was pursuing a systematic policy to fight the oligarchs.
“This is an attempt to break the system of shadow relations in politics and economics.
It is clear that there may be many people who are not interested in breaking this system.
Because it has been rooted in our social relations for twenty, thirty years, ”Podolyak said.
Earlier, Zelensky expressed a similar thought.
Speaking at the forum "Ukraine 30. Economy without oligarchs" in mid-June, he called himself the only statesman in the modern history of Ukraine who began to take real measures to de-oligarchization of the country.
“For the first time in the years of independence, instead of promises, we switched to real actions to overcome this vicious circle of oligarchs' influence,” added the Ukrainian leader.
"Anyone can be declared an oligarch"
During the consideration of the bill on oligarchs, 1,271 amendments were proposed, but almost all of these comments were not taken into account.
As the president of the Center for Systems Analysis and Forecasting Rostislav Ishchenko noted in a commentary to RT, the document is aimed exclusively at continuing the policy of usurpation of power that Zelensky is pursuing, and therefore almost any objections were dismissed.
“This law is aimed at enabling Zelenskiy to concentrate dictatorial power in his hands.
If you try to analyze the criteria for inclusion in the register, then any rich citizen of Ukraine can be declared an oligarch, ”Ischenko explained.
The political scientist is convinced that Zelensky's initiative has nothing to do with the real restructuring of the country's political system, where the will of the oligarchic clans has played a decisive role since the 1990s.
According to Ishchenko, at present all Ukrainian dignitaries, including the president, "are in their places only thanks to the oligarchic consensus."
Billionaire Rinat Akhmetov
RIA News
© Sergey Starostenko
“Naturally, Zelensky will never fight against those who provide him and his team with capital, who provide him with information support.
First of all, I mean Igor Kolomoisky and Rinat Akhmetov, ”Ishchenko stressed.
The expert believes that Zelensky needs the law on oligarchs as an "additional repressive measure."
In the near future, from the point of view of Ishchenko, the document will be used as a mechanism for further attack on political opponents - first of all, Viktor Medvedchuk, chairman of the political council of the Opposition Platform - For Life (Opposition Platform - For Life).
He is now under house arrest and charged under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
An RT source in the president's office explained Zelensky's motivation for being elected for a second term - the law he initiated would allow more effective control over media resources owned by large businessmen.
In addition, in this way the Ukrainian leader is trying to demonstrate to the West that he is fulfilling his promise to fight the influence of the oligarchs.
“The President has already started preparations for the elections.
He fears that he will not be supported by the elites and the media under their control will criticize him harshly.
He remembers the negative experience of Petro Poroshenko - one might say that, in principle, he lost because of the streams of negativity that swept the media.
Another task pursued by the president is to demonstrate to foreign partners a course aimed at weakening the power of the oligarchs, ”the source said.
The RT source at the NSDC also believes that Zelensky is seeking to deprive both current and potential opponents of the "information weapon".
In particular, thanks to the registry, it will be possible to force the oligarchs to give up their media resources.
In addition, according to an RT source in the Batkivshchyna party, the register of oligarchs will actually become a new mechanism for imposing sanctions.
Thanks to him, the President of Ukraine hopes to increase the pressure "on opposition businessmen, who can easily be counted among the oligarchs."
At the same time, the interlocutor of RT in the Servant of the People party adheres to a different version.
The deputy believes that the law on oligarchs was adopted in the interests of Western business, which is trying to deprive large Ukrainian entrepreneurs of the most tasty assets and prevent them from participating in the “big privatization”.
“Why is the West so insistently demanding that Ukraine get rid of the oligarchs?
Because their assets should be transferred to large international companies from the EU and the United States.
The West gets the Ukrainian economy, Zelensky gets the full power.
Everyone agreed, ”says the source.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky
© president.gov.ua
Political analyst Alexander Dudchak also believes that the law initiated by Zelensky is mainly aimed at meeting the requirements of Western elites and transnational corporations.
“In this case, it suits the global capital, because it is fighting the Ukrainian oligarchs, but not as criminals, but as competitors,” Dudchak explained.
He predicts that, thanks to the new law, the level of influence of the oligarchs in Ukraine will indeed decline.
However, the resulting "vacuum of influence will be filled by the governors of the Western states."
“The Ukrainian people won't get any better from fighting the oligarchs.
First, the beneficiary from the exploitation of Ukrainian resources will change.
Secondly, the West will have more levers of control over Kiev, ”Dudchak summed up.