The draft Magnitsky law could be adopted in Parliament until the end of this year. MP of the Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) Marcela Adam said the bill will be examined immediately after it is subject to the parliamentary procedure. For his part, formed Deputy Speaker of Parliament Alexandru Slusari said the government’s initiative is late and a similar proposal was put forward by the MPs of the Dignity and Truth Platform (PPDA) in the previous legislature, IPN reports.
On Friday, the minister of justice presented a Magnitsky Moldova bill that enables to impose sanctions on persons who are sanctioned by other states. Not long before this, the UK announced that Vlad Plahotniuc and Ilan Shor were put on the sanctions list and were subject to an asset freeze.
“On a symbolic day on which we celebrate the fight against corruption, a message from the UK came, informing that Plahotniuc and Shor were sanctioned. We hope to adopt the draft Magnitsky law proposed by the Ministry of Justice by the end of this year. We expect it to pass all the procedures and to be included into the parliamentary procedure,” Marcela Adam stated in the program “Ghețu Asks” on TV8 channel.
Ex-Deputy Speaker Alexandru Slusari said the Magnitsky law should have been passed much earlier, not waiting for signals from the U.S. and UK partners.
“A Magnitsky law was drafted in 2019 and proposed in the previous legislature. Earlier, there was no political will as we had a Parliament with pro-Russian elements, but the government was changed in July 2021 and this has been yet unable to adjust itself and to adopt this law. They waited for messages from the U.S. and the UK before taking steps to convict the bandits of the criminal groupings Plahotiuc and Shor. To my surprise, their friend Platon wasn’t added to that list,” stated Alexandru Slusari.
Constitutional law expert Teodor Cîrnaț said the Magnitsky law cannot substitute the judiciary in Moldova and for the assets of persons who are put on the sanctions list to be confiscated, these need to be convicted.
“I wonder who will implement this law if it excludes the prosecutor’s office and the court of law. The Constitution provides that no law that encroaches on the basic human rights and freedoms can be adopted. The presumption of innocence is the second moment stipulated in the Constitution and any Magnitsky bill should be based on the law and should be applied to persons who are convicted by a final judgment,” stated Teodor Cîrnaț.
Under the draft Magnitsky law, the media companies that promote or are affiliated to persons put on the sanctions list can be stripped of license. The assets of sanctioned persons can be frozen and the state will take them over.
