The Verkhovna Rada wants to decriminalize petty thefts of up to UAH 4,552. This was reported by MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak.

On Wednesday, May 22, 265 MPs supported the relevant draft law No. 11068 in the first reading.

Currently, theft is considered petty theft if the value of the property at the time of the crime does not exceed 0.2 times the tax-free minimum income (i.e. UAH 302.8 as of 2024). Since Ukraine is under martial law, theft is automatically qualified under part four of Article 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which carries a penalty of five to eight years in prison.

This is why sentences such as five years of probation for stealing a bottle of whiskey or several bars of chocolate appear in the court register.

The authors of the draft law believe that such a punishment for theft is not proportionate.

Therefore, it is proposed to raise the threshold of criminal responsibility for theft to three tax-free minimum incomes (UAH 4,542 as of 2024).

At the same time, the Rada intends to significantly increase administrative penalties for petty thefts - up to UAH 5100 (or up to UAH 8,500 for repeated thefts within a year).

In addition, the Rada passed in the first reading a draft law on strengthening the fight against fraudulent call centers.

267 MPs voted in favor.

The draft law proposes to add new articles to the Criminal Code:

• Electronic communication fraud (190-1);
• Creation, management of an electronic communication fraud organization, as well as participation in it (255-4);
• Involvement in an electronic communication fraud organization.

In this way, they want to strengthen the fight against “offices” that cheat people out of their money.