Employment Of Illegalls Gets You Five Years In CZ

Prague - The illegal employment of foreigners can carry up to five years in prison as from next year compared with a maximal fine of two million crowns now, under the new criminal law that the Senate approved today and that the president is yet to sign.

Aiding in securing illegal stay of foreigners in the country can be punished with up to eight years in prison.

Justice Minister Jiri Pospisil said on the other hand the law decreases the upper level of punishment for certain economic delicts from 12 to 19 years.

"We wanted to find a compromise between those who would completely leave out a half of economic criminal offences, or largely restrict them, to whom I belong, and those who would introduce further economic criminal offences and would further tighten the punishment," Pospisil said.

The lowering of the maximal rate includes theft, fraud and embezzlement.

The law tightens the punishment of breach of industrial rights and copyright to up to eight years in prison. The forgery and imitation of a work of art is to be punished with up to ten yars in prison.

The conclusion of cartel agreements on prices is to be punished with up to eight years in prison.

The law authors say the tighter punishment of illegal employment and immigration aims mainly against organised gangs that profit form illegally mediating work and immigration.

It is mainy Ukrainians who illegally find jobs in the Czech Republic. In the first half of the year check-ups exposed almost 1200 illegally employed foreigners, or one-tenth of the checked persons. (USD1=19.809 crowns)

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