On December 3, 2020, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted in the first reading the draft law on liability for theft, misappropriation, sale, forgery of identity documents confirming Ukrainian citizenship or special status of a person, as well as certificates of state registration of civil status and / or use of knowingly forged such documents.
Forged Ukrainian documents
Today, forgery of identity documents confirming the citizenship of Ukraine or the special status of a person, as well as the documents on the basis of which they are issued, is a fairly common crime.
These include documents such as a passport of a citizen of Ukraine, a passport of a citizen of Ukraine for travel abroad, a residence permit, as well as certificates of state registration of civil status. And their forgery, respectively, makes it possible to seize someone else’s property, finances, evade property liability, liability for offenses, illegally cross the border and so on.
Today, forgery of such documents has become so widespread that even virtual forged document stores and underground laboratories operate. At the same time, members of organized criminal groups for the purpose of personal enrichment commit criminal acts aimed at illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine and legalization of foreigners on the territory of Ukraine. One of the reasons for such a scale of crime in this area is the small amount of liability (30 USD).
Therefore, the draft law provides for the strengthening of criminal liability for crimes related to forgery of these documents.
The draft law proposes to amend Articles 357 and 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, as well as to supplement it with Article 358-1, according to which liability is established for:
- theft, misappropriation of identity documents confirming the citizenship of Ukraine or the special status of a person, or certificates of state registration of civil status, as well as intentional illegal possession of them in any other way;
- use of knowingly forged identity documents confirming citizenship of Ukraine or special status of a person, or certificates of state registration of civil status;
- forgery of identity documents confirming the citizenship of Ukraine or special status of a person, or certificates of state registration of civil status, as well as the acquisition, sale or other transfer of such forged documents.
Arrest for fake Ukrainian documents
The document provides for arrest for up to six months or restriction of liberty for up to three years for misappropriation of these documents or intentional illegal possession of them in any other way. Thus for use of knowingly forged documents it is offered to punish with arrest for a period of up to six months or restriction of liberty for a period from three to five years.
The draft law also provides for arrest for up to six months or imprisonment for up to three years for forgery of these documents, their acquisition, sale or transfer in any way.
If the above offenses are committed repeatedly or by prior conspiracy by a group of persons or an official using official position, such actions are proposed to be punished by arrest for three to five years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years or without such.
