Extortion of a bribe: criminal case upon fact and basic concepts

Bribery is considered one of the most dangerous crimes committed by officials. The receipt of illegal remuneration is an encroachment on the normal functioning of the state administration apparatus. The spread of bribery disorganizes his work and discredits power in the eyes of citizens.

general characteristics

It must be understood that bribery does not exist by itself. It is considered as a means that gives criminal activity greater efficiency and, therefore, increased danger. In fact, a bribe is a two-way deal. It lies between the bribing party and the entity selling its capabilities and powers. As a rule, a bribe is expressed in the transfer of cash, property, securities. They can be taken under various pretexts:

1. Rendering mat. help.
2. Payment of services or work under the contract.
3. Providing a loan for any purpose.
4. Repayment of debt.

The specifics of the crime

The peculiarity of the crime is that the subject can receive a bribe both for illegal actions or inaction of the employee, and for work that falls within his direct competence. At the same time, the employee was entitled, in accordance with the established procedure, to perform for the benefit of the entity giving the illegal remuneration, or the persons represented by it, any task or nothing to do.

Extortion of a bribe

Article of the Criminal Code No. 290 establishes liability for the commission of this crime. It is provided for in part five, paragraph "b". For extortion of a bribe, an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for penalties in the form of:

1. Cash recovery. Its size is 70-90 times the amount of the bribe.
2. 7-12 years in prison.

For extorting a bribe, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation allows for the last type of punishment to impose an additional ban on carrying out certain activities or staying at specific posts established by the court for up to 3 years, as well as a fine equal to 60 times the amount of illegal remuneration received.

Method of committing an act

In the process of extorting bribes from officials, they can turn directly to citizens. However, most often the perpetrators use the services of third parties. In the case of extortion of a bribe, intermediaries can be a close friend, a family member, a familiar lawyer, etc. At the same time, the actions of the participants in the crime themselves - the person taking it and the person providing the remuneration - are usually carefully hidden by them. The transfer of values ​​is carried out in most cases in the absence of witnesses.

Qualification

To identify a crime, it is necessary to establish whether there are signs of extortion of a bribe. The possibility of bringing the perpetrators to justice will depend on this. The subject of the crime in question is special. If extortion of a bribe is suspected, it is necessary to establish whether the perpetrator occupies any post in the state structure. Such entities are temporarily, permanently or under special authority representatives of the authorities.

They can also carry out administrative or organizational and administrative functions in state bodies, municipal and state divisions, local self-government institutions, in the Armed forces, other military units and troops of the country.According to the law, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs act as representatives of the authorities and are officials. They are vested with administrative powers in the prescribed manner and exercise them in relation to entities that are not in the official dependence on them. When officials commit crimes that do not relate to the performance of their duties, an appropriate composition is not formed. If there are grounds for such acts, they can be qualified according to other criminal norms.

Characteristic features of the crime

The extortion of a bribe by an official is manifested as follows:

1. Talk about a possible reward is allegorical. Moreover, the employee’s speech consists of simple monosyllabic sentences. It does not contain open statements regarding the fact that the official can solve the issue only after transferring money to him or providing the service.
2. In the process of conversation, the employee, refusing to assist the subject (saying, for example, that he cannot help, that it is illegal, that he does not have the ability), by means of gestures or gestures, shows his readiness to discuss possible solutions to the situation elsewhere, at another time and in more relaxed atmosphere.
3. The nature or amount of the remuneration is not announced. Moreover, the corresponding numbers can be recorded by an employee on a sheet of paper, typed on a calculator or computer, and then shown to a citizen.
4. The employee can redirect the continuation of the contact to a third party, which is not directly related to the resolution of the issue.

Citizen behavior

How to behave if there is an explicit extortion of a bribe by an official? The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides liability only if the guilt of the subject is proved and other elements of the crime are established. In this regard, it is recommended:

1. Behave very carefully, without fawning, politely. Hasty remarks should not be allowed. They can be interpreted by the guilty as a willingness or a categorical refusal to give a bribe or committing bribery.
2. Listen very carefully and remember the conditions that the official set. In particular, we are talking about the amount of remuneration, timing, method of transfer, the sequence of resolution of the situation.
3. Try to postpone the discussion of the place and time until the next conversation. If this is not possible, the citizen against whom extortion of a bribe is committed should be offered a well-known territory for future meetings.
4. Find out from the interlocutor about the existence of guarantees for solving the problem when providing remuneration.

To hold accountable for extorting a bribe, it is necessary to collect as much evidence as possible of the employee’s guilt. Therefore, law enforcement agencies recommend not to take the initiative, but to allow the official to speak out and provide as much information as possible.

Options for resolving the situation

After the extortion of a bribe has been committed, a citizen can act differently. He can, firstly, make a deal with the employee and provide him with what he requires to resolve the situation. In this case, criminal liability threatens not only the subject who has committed the extortion of a bribe. Section 291 punishes unlawful rewards.

In this case, the fact of transferring funds, rendering services, etc., will have evidential significance. The second option is to stop all contacts with the employee, thus refusing to commit a crime. In such cases, a citizen will have to come to terms with the fact that an important problem for him will not be resolved. But at the same time, the official will continue to carry out illegal activities, becoming more and more corrupt.And the third option is to expose the subject, realizing that only through joint actions with law enforcement agencies can this crime be eradicated. In any situation, a person is obliged to maintain his dignity, not to become an accomplice of illegal acts.

Bribe Extortion Application

If a citizen who has become a victim of official corruption decides to take the path of counteracting crimes, then he should contact the law enforcement authorities. He can make written or oral communication about the committed act. The application for extortion of a bribe should contain:

1. Information about an employee requiring illegal remuneration. In particular, the following shall be indicated: full name, position held, name of institution.
2. Description of the nature of the reward.
3. Indication of the amount.
4. Description of specific actions / omissions for the commission of which a bribe is extorted.
5. Location, time, method of transferring rewards.

The punishment for extorting a bribe is imputed regardless of when the remuneration was received - after or before the commission of inaction / actions by the employees.

Thing

As it can be not only cash or other material values. A bribe may be a service or any property right. For example, the opportunity to get a loan on favorable terms or a loan, the issuance of which does not comply with general banking regulations. So, with a salary of 20 thousand rubles. a financial organization can provide a loan of up to 200 thousand rubles, but an entity that solicits a bribe and has the right to make a decision on lending gives a citizen 500 thousand. The subject of a crime is considered to be a service or property benefit that is provided free of charge, however, according to general rules, they are payable. For example, it can be getting a tourist permit, building a summer house, repairing an apartment, and so on. Benefits of a property nature are: underestimation of the value of property provided or of privatized objects, reduction of rental payments, interest rates for using credit funds. All this should have a monetary value. When a service acts as the subject of a crime, the act will be considered completed from the first actions that are aimed at its provision.

Disclaimer

The note to article 291 of the Criminal Code states that the subject can avoid punishment for giving a bribe if there was extortion or he voluntarily informed law enforcement authorities about the crime committed. This provision enshrines one of the special circumstances of the release from responsibility of a person with his active repentance. It is worth noting that, in comparison with the previous edition of the Criminal Code, the essence of this institution in the current legislation is more fully disclosed. The essence of active repentance is that a person, in the circumstances provided for by the norms of the Main part of the Code, can be released from liability for a crime committed by him. To do this, he needs to take active actions. For example, it can be a confession, assistance in solving a crime, and so on. A feature of this legal institute is the legitimacy, social utility, voluntariness and activity of the subject. The application of special grounds for exemption from liability is permissible only to the person who committed the crime.

Motives of active remorse

The reasons why the subject performs active actions for the subsequent release from responsibility may be motivations of a moral or other nature. For example, a person may not have confidence that he will be able to hide a crime, he may simply be afraid of punishment. Any motive for reporting an act must be accompanied by an awareness of the possibility of being released from liability.Voluntaryness can be indicated by the subject's understanding of the fact that law enforcement agencies are not aware of the committed act or, if they have any information, they do not have information about the whereabouts of the perpetrators. If a person realizes that law enforcement agencies are aware of the crime, and they take appropriate measures to apprehend the attacker, volunteerism does not take place. Encourage the guilty person to confess to the deed may be acquaintances, friends, relatives or other persons. Nevertheless, the decision on voluntary communication is made by the subject of the crime.

Provocation

It represents actions that are specifically aimed at obtaining artificial evidence for subsequent prosecution of an employee or subsequent blackmail. They are committed contrary to the apparent disagreement of the official on receiving a bribe or with his ignorance. A provocation is considered completed from the moment of transfer of material assets or the provision of services to an employee. If he nevertheless accepted the subject of the bribe, then he may be held liable. If provocation is proved, then he must be exempted from liability. The Sun distinguishes between the specified crime and the incitement of investigators to receive bribes by employees. In particular, it is indicated that actions of this kind violate the provisions of the Law governing operational activities. Regardless of whether the object of the bribe was accepted or not, this fact cannot be qualified as bribery.