On November 15, the Parliament adopted an amnesty initiative aimed at granting immunity from criminal liability and punishment to persons involved in the illegal acquisition of state agricultural land. The amnesty will apply to those who, before September 1, 2023, obtained title to the land by violating articles of the Criminal Code such as fraud (Article 180) and the production, sale or use of forged documents, seals, stamps or blank forms (Article 362). The accomplices of the crime are also exempt from criminal liability. All amnestied persons will be released from criminal liability, conditional sentences or penalties, including unenforced fines.
The amnesty applies only to those who, by 1 September 2024, have fully compensated the state for the damage caused by the crime. Compensation methods include either the transfer of agricultural land to state ownership or the payment of an equivalent amount to the state budget. Public officials, employees of state-owned enterprises, and those who used their official position to commit a crime are explicitly excluded from the amnesty. In addition, crimes committed by organized groups and cases where the alienation of state-owned agricultural land took place after September 1, 2023 are not eligible.
The application process requires the submission of necessary documents to the National Agency of Public Registry. Decisions on amnesty are made by prosecutors during the investigation and by courts during the criminal trial.
Those who are granted amnesty have the right to appeal against the decision once to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court within two weeks of its notification. The Supreme Court is obliged to consider the appeal within 10 days.
The amnesty is to be enforced until January 1, 2025.
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