Law, Criminal law
Bribe the official. Mediation in bribery. CC RF
There is hardly an adult in the modern world who has never heard of bribery and corruption. Almost every citizen who leads an active social life encounters this phenomenon.
Unfortunately, quite often in modern society there are situations when an important decision in a person's life depends on a certain official. This is especially true for the sphere of entrepreneurship and economy, trade, construction, etc. Restrictions on tax legislation, customs laws, the Criminal and Administrative Code, the SDA apply to all citizens of the country, and sometimes it is problematic to abide by the law. In addition, there are situations when officials themselves extort bribes for the actions that they must take under the law. Many people think that in all these cases a bribe to an official is a norm, and thanks to these factors, corruption is blossoming every year. "Do not podmazhesh - you will not go ..." - with a sigh recognize the citizens and agree with the demand of the official. Meanwhile, giving and receiving bribes is an economic crime punishable by law.
291 article. Bribe-giving
The Criminal Code currently in force in the Russian Federation (the Criminal Code) was adopted in 1996. It provides for the punishment for two types of offenses - giving a bribe to an official and receiving a bribe. A bribe is understood as material compensation for an official promised to him or received by him for the performance of his immediate duties. A bribe to an official is a two-sided crime. The recipient of a bribe is called a bribe-taker, but the one who gives a bribe is a bribe-taker.
As Article 291 of the Criminal Code states, giving a bribe to an official using the services of an intermediary or personally is a criminal offense punishable by a fine in the amount of fifteenfold to ninetyfive in relation to a bribe, or imprisonment of two to twelve years, depending on the circumstances of the crime And on the size of the bribe. Aggravating circumstances are considered to be a significant amount of bribe, bribing an official for making knownly illegal actions (inaction). In these cases, the punishment for the committed crime will be much stricter. A crime - a bribe to an official - is considered committed when the bribe-taker receives at least part of the material values from the bribe-taker or his intermediary. Criminal responsibility for giving bribes comes from 16 years. Penalties for crime and criminal prosecution can be avoided if the bribe-taker voluntarily appealed for help to law enforcement agencies, facilitated the disclosure of the crime or proved that he was extorted from a bribe. In this case, the criminal prosecution extends only to the bribe-taker.
Getting a bribe. Article 290 of the Criminal Code
The bribe, as we found out, is a criminal offense. Taking bribes by employees is considered one of the most serious economic crimes. In this case, the civil servant receives material values from citizens, using his official position, for performing or failing to perform direct duties in favor of the bribe-taker. This type of crime is punishable by a fine, up to a ninety-fold bribe, imprisonment for up to twelve years or suspension, depending on the size of the bribe and other aggravating circumstances of the crime. For example, the repeated receipt of a bribe is punished more severely than a single case. Under the repeated receipt of a bribe is understood the receipt of material benefits more than twice by the same person. In any case, the mercenary abuse of his official powers is punishable by law.
Extortion of bribes
History of bribery
The term "corruption" comes from the word corrumpire - abuse of office, bribe, spoil. This word was first used in Roman law - even Julius Caesar struggled with bribery, forbidding officials to receive gold wreaths from the cities that they were offered for protection. During the Middle Ages in Europe, officials were not shy to receive material benefits, using their official position, bribery was widespread everywhere. In Russia, civil servants were given "feeding" - some payment from interested citizens in the success of their business. In addition, officials received salaries from the state treasury. Tsar Ivan III, Ivan the Terrible, Peter the First were punished for bribery. There were years when bribery was punishable by death.
In the East bribery was widespread, but there it had the character of a gift of offering. In the Middle Ages and the East, too, began to fight bribery, mercenary officials were dismissed and punished.
Beginning at the end of the 19th century, the state power was gaining more and more powers, state control became widespread and covered all spheres of citizens' lives. This led to the growth of bribery, officials and politicians of all levels began to almost openly use their official position and not only to take, but also extort bribes from citizens. In some countries, such extortion took the form of party contributions - that is, bribes were not taken by individual officials and officials, but by party representatives.
Corruption in recent years is one of the first places in the field of economic crimes around the world. Corrupt officials and governments pose a huge threat to any state, as they hamper the country's development and undermine the authority of the authorities, and sometimes threaten the security of its citizens. So, in the 70s of the last century, a scandal arose because of the American company Lockheed, which sold low-quality planes of Germany and Japan. Officials of these countries received material benefits from the firm.
The phenomenon of corruption largely depends on the standard of living in a particular country and on its national culture. For example, it is proved that in Japan and China, where the wisdom and loyalty of officials and leaders to their state is cultivated, bribery is spread a little less than in other countries. This is also connected with the laws of the countries - there the punishment for bribes is stricter.
Mediation
Mediation in bribery is the actions of third parties that facilitate the agreement between a bribe-taker and a bribe-taker, or the transfer of a bribe from one party to another. It is believed that it is easier to take or give a bribe through an intermediary - the bribe taker and the bribe-taker are not always familiar with each other, in which case the intermediary is attracted for greater security and reliability. Most often, the intermediary also has some material compensation for its services - sometimes even a percentage of the total amount of the bribe being transferred.
Mediation in bribery is punishable by law only in the presence of a large bribe (article 291.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Considerable amount is considered to be over 25 000 rubles. The mediation is punishable by a fine, up to a forty-fold bribe, or imprisonment for up to five years. Punishment also depends on the size of the bribe and other aggravating circumstances - for example, the use of the intermediary's official position or the particularly large amount of material benefit.
Moreover, assistance or complicity in a crime can be punished by law not only when the crime is committed and completed, but also at the moment when the intermediary offered his services to the bribe-takers. The promise of mediation alone is already an economic crime.
The main problems in the investigation of bribery
Investigation of bribery is not always easy. The most important obstacle to the investigation of the crime is the fact that in the case of bribery there are no so-called victims - all participants in the bribe are interested in preventing this fact from being known to law enforcement agencies. Corruption is a mutually beneficial act, and the briber is also in most cases not interested in the fact that the crime is revealed - his interest is explained by personal participation in the crime and persecution of his own interests. This is especially important in cases where the bribe-taker is an infringer of the law, the tax code, the traffic rules, the criminal or administrative code of the Russian Federation.
One of the most dangerous, from the point of view of society, is a permanent arrangement between the bribe-taker and the bribe-taker, which arises in the case of the patronage of an official systematically provided to the offender.
Increasingly widespread are cases where officials, in addition to the post they hold, have their own economic organizations and enterprises. Their material interest doubles and is supported by official powers and opportunities.
The spread of bribery in various spheres
According to statistics, bribery in law enforcement agencies was the most widespread. Often, representatives of the police and the prosecutor's office are themselves corrupt, because they perceive bribes as compensation for their hard work, not sufficiently highly paid by the state. A bribe to a policeman, like any other official, is a criminal offense. The traffic police officers quite often not only take bribes, but also extort them. In recent years, this phenomenon has become quite familiar and almost normal - despite all the efforts of the state, aimed at eradicating corruption. Unfortunately, most citizens accept the conditions of officials and do not interfere with obtaining bribes.
Representatives of the bureaucracy, employees of various administrations and offices also often have the opportunity to receive bribes. There are many officials, and some problems can not be solved without their assistance and participation, and some unscrupulous employees use it.
Sometimes cases of bribery also occur among medical workers. Gifts from grateful patients often take the form of a real bribe, especially in cases of interaction with medical workers occupying high positions - head physicians, heads of polyclinics and hospitals, etc. It's no secret that with a small gift or a reward you can get more A high level of care, treatment and care in virtually any hospital or medical facility.
Representatives of education are also involved and seen in bribery. Receipt of tests and sessions, admission to an educational institution, its successful completion and just the process of obtaining an education - all this has its prices in the environment of individual teaching groups.
In a word, there is practically no sphere of public service in which employees who practice bribery would not meet. Unfortunately, the measures taken by the state in relation to corrupt officials do not always give the expected result.
Fighting corruption
According to the law, all state committees and administrations are obliged to fight corruption . To prevent cases of bribery, laws and legal acts are being drafted. There are special hotlines, which can be called anonymously and leave information about corrupt officials or cases of extortion. In order to combat corruption, civil servants are constantly adding salaries, control over these people is carried out in all possible ways. For example, in many cars of inspectors GAI cameras are installed, which help prevent bribery. The circulation of citizens to law enforcement bodies in connection with corruption is encouraged in every possible way. From year to year, the selection of persons who have access to public service, especially to high positions, becomes tougher. In some state institutions, the possibility of finding employment through relatives or friends is strictly suppressed, up to the rejection of a vacancy due to the presence of family ties.
All these methods give a definite result, but corruption persists in many areas. The bribe takes more veiled forms. The incomes of the officials are hidden, and to prove the fact of the crime is becoming increasingly difficult. The ways in which the giving and receiving of a bribe are carried out vary.
Correlation of corruption with other crimes
As a rule, bribery is very rare in itself - most often, the fact of bribery is closely related to other crimes committed by a bribe payee. A bribe to an official often accompanies other offenses. Theft of items of special value - Article 164 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, excess of official authority - Art. 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, abuse of official powers - art. 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, illegal participation in business activities - art. 289 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, commercial bribery - art. 204 of the Criminal Code. All these articles are often applied to the same person when investigating the facts of bribery. It should be understood that the punishment for bribery does not exclude the criminal punishment for any other articles listed if the offense took place.
What if you get a bribe?
The Criminal Code is on guard for the interests of every citizen. A bribe for an official should not be considered an ordinary occurrence. If this situation has arisen, you can act in three ways:
- If you agree to this, you need to remember that the criminal liability for a bribe, in case of disclosure of this fact, will affect not only the recipient, but you personally.
- Refusing to give a bribe and warning an unscrupulous employee about their intentions, one can not only not solve their problem, but also exacerbate bad relations - an official has a certain power, otherwise such a situation would simply not arise. A positive decision in this case should not be expected, rather the opposite - the employee will do everything possible to resolve the issue as difficult as possible. It is not excluded that they will simply laugh at you and lead you home.
"The most reasonable thing is to let the official understand that you are willing to pay a bribe." Try to get as many guarantees as possible in the fact that your problem will be solved and assistance provided. After this, we need to clarify the amount involved, how you should pay for the services, who takes the bribe from you, at what time and where. After that, you need to apply to law enforcement agencies, write a statement about the fact of extortion. It is possible to apply for help to the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor's Office, customs authorities, etc. According to the law, such appeals must be registered in any state body - up to appeal to the Government or to the President of the Russian Federation. The application must be in writing, one copy remains in your hands. It is better to find out and remember who will handle your application and what to expect. The more detailed the situation will be described, the more likely that the issue will be decided in your favor.
Corruption is a disease of modern society. It is necessary to fight it not only government bodies, but also ordinary citizens, because ordinary people suffer from corrupt officials. According to statistics, chances to defeat corruption in a single country are 1: 250, and if appropriate measures are taken in many countries, the chances increase - 1:23. Thus, it is better to solve this problem together, "by the whole world."
Similar articles
Trending Now