DOI: 10.7256/2409-7136.2017.2.16637

Abstract: The research subject is the prosecutorial and investigative practice of investigation of crimes in housing and utilities sector, the scientific works in this field and the statistical data. The research object is social relations emerging in the process of investigating crimes in housing and utilities sector. The authors analyze the practice of reported offences consideration and criminal cases investigation in this sphere. Special attention is given to the detection of the breaches of law, committed by law enforcement agencies during pre-trial investigation of criminal cases in this sphere. The paper analyzes the works of Russian scholars on this issue and the official statistics of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation, devoted to this category of criminal cases. The research methodology is based on formal-logical, comparative-legal, logical, structural-functional and normative methods helping consider the issue comprehensively. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the complex consideration of the detected weaknesses of law enforcement agencies’ activities within the investigation of crimes of this category, and in the proposals about these weaknesses elimination. Pre-trial reviews are not sufficient. Requests for the necessary documents are not sent in proper time. Refusals to initiate criminal proceedings are issued ahead of time. Pre-trial investigation of criminal cases is not effective. Reasonable terms of criminal proceedings are breached. Measures to detect the guilty persons and the circumstances that should be proved according to the article 73 of the Criminal Code, are not assumed in due time. Forensic enquiries are not appointed in due time. Usually it happens because of the lack of specialists or equipment, or high price for expertise (it can be up to 300 000 rubles in nongovernmental institutions). The level of interaction between operational and investigative departments and control and supervision agencies in the sphere of prevention, detection, and elimination of breaches, is low. The property of the accused person, which can compensate the property damage, is not detected and sequestered in due time. It seems that the elimination and prevention of such weaknesses can raise the effectiveness of the work of bodies responsible for pre-trial investigation of criminal cases in housing and utility sector. 

DOI: 10.7256/2409-868X.2016.2.17216

Abstract: The subject of this research is the Russian and foreign normative legal acts that comprise legal foundation for the fight against legalization (laundering) of the criminal income which was realized using the offshore zones. The object is the public relations emerging in the process of counteraction of crimes of the reviewed category. In the first part of this article the author carefully examines such aspects of the topic as the genesis of criminal act – “laundering” of the income. Special attention is given to its legal codification and determination of the main components of the definition of “laundering” that is contained in the international Conventions and Russian legislation. As a result of this research, the authors were able to reveal the main aspects of the definition of legalization (laundering) of the criminal income, realized using the offshore zones; detect correlation between the international norms and the positions of Russian legislation which regulate the process of counteraction of the aforementioned crime; establish the chronology and reasons of the changes introduced into the Article 174 and 1741 of the Criminal Code of Russian Federation, which are aimed at improving the legislation in the sphere of fight against legalization (laundering) of criminal income.

DOI: 10.7256/2305-9699.2013.11.9839

Abstract: The article concerns topical problems regarding prosecutor supervision over the procedural activities of inquiry and preliminary interrogation bodies in criminal cases on human trafficking. The authors analyze practice of prosecutor supervision in this sphere, as well as international documents and statistical data.  The article contains examples of investigation of criminal cases within the above-mentioned category, and possible measures for improvement of efficiency in the sphere of prosecution control and current legislation of the Russian Federation and the CIS against human trafficking.  The authors propose to have joint by-law by the law-enforcement bodies of the Russian Federation defining the list and elements of crimes in the sphere of human trafficking alike to similar lists on extremist and corruption-related, and terrorist crimes. In the interests of the law-enforcement bodies of the CIS Member States there is need to form a joint forensic database. Finally, in order to guarantee unhindered operative (including international situations) participation of victims in criminal judicial proceedings there is need to widen the scope of digital technologies in criminal proceedings, such as video-conferences, SMS, Internet-telephony, electronic signatures, information and consultation websites with the access only to victims and their representatives, etc.