Government proposes punishing public institution heads that misuse budget funds

The inappropriate use of large budget resources by the heads of public institutions will be punished by fine of 150 to 300 conventional units or 1 to 3 years in jail, in both cases with (or without) the deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to carry out a certain activity for a period of up to 3 years. If two or more persons commit the same irregularity again and the misused sums are very large, the punishment will be 300 to 700 conventional units or imprisonment of 2 to 5 years, in both cases with the deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to carry out a certain activity for a period of 2 to 5 years. According to Info-Prim Neo, the Government proposed relevant amendments to the Penal Code at its last meeting. The amendments will form article 239/1. The informative note that accompanies the bill says that such amendments are necessary because the punishment for the inappropriate use of budget funds turned out to be insufficient for preventing such cases. The inspections carried out by the Audit Office at the public institutions, including the last ones, prove this. The amendments do not refer to misappropriation of public money, but only to the use of this money for other purposes than those stipulated in the yearly financing plans of the public institutions.