On July 22nd, 2025, the meeting was held in Moscow between the working group for criminal procedure under the Ombudsperson for the protection of entrepreneur's rights.
The Russian Legal team, led by Andrey Kozlov and Polina Matveeva, actively participated.
Lawyers proposed amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to protect entrepreneurs' rights and interests. In 2024, there were 5817 cases of conviction under the Part 4 Article 159 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, of which about 40 percent were related to business activity. Many entrepreneurs are held in pretrial detention facilities despite the restrictions provided for by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.
This indicates that the current system is not working well and needs improvement. The new clarification of the legislation will eliminate the subjective discretion of the investigation authorities in application of the entrepreneurial guarantees.
During the meeting, the team presented their proposals and received valuable feedback from other participants. Russian Legal continues to work on this issue, taking into consideration the feedback and best practices. The implementation of these changes will strengthen protection for entrepreneurs and increase effectiveness of criminal proceedings.
