On August 21, 2025, a meeting was held in Kyiv between the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko and representatives of the country’s leading business associations. Leaders of more than 40 leading business associations gathered in the conference hall of the business center to discuss topical issues of interaction between law enforcement agencies and entrepreneurship.

Ruslan Kravchenko, Prosecutor General of Ukraine, opened the meeting with a presentation of the results of a large-scale audit of criminal proceedings against businesses. The Prosecutor General reported that on June 26, a quantitative and qualitative audit of all criminal proceedings began, which revealed almost 23,000 cases related to businesses. In a month and a half, 7,848 proceedings were closed.

“Overall, the number of cases decreased from 22,396 proceedings in July to 14,605 in August,” Kravchenko said. He emphasized that the process is being carried out thoroughly, with law enforcement agencies ordering 2,141 expert examinations.

Kravchenko also presented an innovative digital platform #СТОП_ТИСК to protect businesses from unlawful pressure from law enforcement agencies. The platform will be launched in the near future. Authorization will take place through “Diy,” and appeals will automatically be sent to the relevant departments of the prosecutor’s office. The Prosecutor General also announced important legislative initiatives, in particular amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code regarding the mandatory approval by the prosecutor of the registration of criminal proceedings against businesses and the sending of requests to enterprises.

Andriy Yerashev, head of the Analytical Center of the Ukrainian Entrepreneurs Union, raised the issue of analytical reports, noting that businesses oppose granting them the status of evidence due to insufficient communication with entrepreneurs during their preparation. He also requested contact information for working with the prosecutor’s office after the reform of the Investment Protection Department.

Mykhailo Polyakov, Deputy Director General for Corporate Relations at Philip Morris Ukraine, praised the Prosecutor General’s activity, noting that this was already the fourth meeting with business, whereas there had been virtually no such meetings with previous prosecutors general. He noted that the #STOP_PRESSURE platform should also be used to combat the illegal production of tobacco products and other excise goods, such as vapes. He also drew attention to a problematic case in Chernivtsi, where the BEB referred a case of counterfeit brands to court without taking into account the position of the trademark owner.

Tetyana Lysovets, Vice President of the Ukrainian Bar Association, warned about analytical products, which often contain not only calculations of losses but also determinations of intent. She proposed developing methodological recommendations for clearer regulation of their compilation and use.

Viktor Duma, representative of the European Business Association’s Security and Business Protection Committee, raised the issue of the effectiveness of the standards for prosecutorial activity approved in April 2024.

“I will tell you, as Attorney General, that these are not standards. The standards for prosecutorial activity are written in the Criminal Procedure Code,” Ruslan Kravchenko emphasized.

Rostislav Korobka, Vice President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, raised the issue of general oversight by the prosecutor’s office, particularly with regard to land issues and tender procedures. Kravchenko gave a clear answer about the country’s European course: “There is no general oversight and there will be none. This is an integration process for our country’s entry into the EU.”

Yosyp Buchynsky, Vice President of the Taxpayers Association of Ukraine, expressed gratitude for the new policy and described specific positive changes, noting that after appealing to the Deputy Prosecutor General, unpromising cases were closed within a few days. He also highly appreciated the decision to coordinate all requests to businesses with prosecutors.

Grigol Katamadze, President of the Taxpayers Association of Ukraine, noted the historic nature of the moment, pointing out that this is the first Prosecutor General to meet with business not in his office, but at a business venue, breaking established stereotypes.

He expressed his support for the new head of the BEB and his hope for better cooperation, adding that it was necessary to put an end to the abuse of analytical products by BEB detectives once and for all (which was repeatedly emphasized by representatives of the business community during the meeting), he called for the BEB to adopt the approach of successful Western countries as soon as possible, namely to switch to the ILP (Led Intelligence Policing) model and actively implement a risk-oriented approach, which is actually provided for by the Law on the BEB.

Andriy Dligach, Chairman of the Council of the Coalition of Business Communities for the Modernization of Ukraine, supported the idea of pre-trial agreements, which could be the first step towards decriminalizing economic crimes. Andriy Dligach proposed conducting economic modeling of the optimal compensation ratio (including in the case of agreements on additional tax payments). The parties agreed to work together on relevant regulatory proposals.

Andriy Khorkavy, representative of the All-Ukrainian Association of Passenger Carriers, spoke about the problems of the industry, in particular the criminal cases of 2023 under Articles 368 and 369 of the Criminal Procedure Code, where suspicions have been announced only against business representatives, and not against officials of the Ministry of Infrastructure. The Prosecutor General proposed to transfer detailed information to his deputy for a detailed review of the case.

Yevhen Riako, representative of the Ukrainian Bar Association, critically assessed the methodology of conducting commodity examinations and expressed doubts about the objectivity of state expert institutions when considering controversial conclusions. He also raised the issue of the possibility of resolving some economic conflicts through commercial courts instead of criminal prosecution.

Mykhailo Sokolov, deputy chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, spoke about the paradoxical situation with a charitable foundation that donated 2,500 cars to the Armed Forces of Ukraine but is facing five criminal cases because of this activity. The Prosecutor General promised to look into this issue and facilitate a lawful resolution of the case.

Yevgeny Artyukhov, co-founder of the Club100 business community, proposed expanding the powers of prosecutors to independently close criminal proceedings based on facts. Kravchenko supported the initiative, stating that he was ready to sign the relevant proposals.

Serhiy Morgun, head of business protection at ASA Group, drew attention to cases where prosecutors, agreeing that there was no crime, still did not close cases for fear of pressure from management. The Prosecutor General categorically denied the existence of such problems and suggested providing specific names for consideration.

Kostyantyn Globa, member of the CBU Board of Directors and managing director of Globa & Globa, shared his positive experience of working with the new system, whereby eight out of 11 criminal proceedings were closed within four days. He also raised the issue of enforcing court orders to lift the seizure of property.

Dmytro Taranovsky, representative of the All-Ukrainian Professional Association of Entrepreneurs, noted that he represents entrepreneurs in Odesa and that communication with the regional prosecutor’s office is practically non-existent. Dmytro invited the Prosecutor General to Odesa to hold a regional meeting with entrepreneurs. Ruslan Kravchenko noted that he is planning regional meetings in September.

Yuriy Peroganych, head of the Association of Information Technology Enterprises of Ukraine, spoke about the high-profile 2020 case involving the detention of a truck with undeclared gadgets worth UAH 96 million, which was closed without any charges being brought, and requested a review of the legality of such actions.

Antonina Prudko, head of the UNIC secretariat, asked about the possibility of introducing liability for prosecutors for lost cases. Kravchenko spoke about the existing mechanisms of liability for unlawful criminal prosecution.

Following the meeting, the participants reached a consensus on all issues discussed. Business representatives noted the convenience and usefulness of the #STOP_PRESSURE platform, and the meeting participants expect a further reduction in unfounded criminal proceedings against businesses. They also agreed to actively support draft law No. 12439, which contains changes to the Criminal Procedure Code that are important for the business community.

“It is important to give entrepreneurs peace of mind so that law enforcement agencies do not disturb law-abiding businesses. Conscientious businesses must operate and contribute to the state budget through taxes,” the Prosecutor General concluded.