Relevant issues of conducting verification of reports on illegal banking operations
This article is dedicated to the issues of conducting audit pursuant to the Article 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation on report of crimes established by the Article 172 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Methodological framework for this research consists of dialectical, logical, and formal-legal methods; the normative framework is comprised of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, criminal and criminal procedure legislation of the Russian Federation, local normative acts that regulate the conduct of audit initiating at the stage of initiating a criminal case. Major attention is turned to the theoretical and applied issues associated with the initiation of criminal cases stipulated by the Article 172 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Analysis is conducted on the peculiarities of seizure of objects and documents on this category of crime; as well as on the goals, tasks, methods of seizure, and admissible procedural actions. The author examines the questions of admissibility of evidence received at the state of opening a criminal case, their role in subsequent stages of criminal proceedings. Assessment is given to the existing theoretical and practical views on the possibility of instituting a search and seizure prior to opening a criminal case. The author analyzes case law on the topic, and concludes on the need for further amendments. The importance of observing the rights and legitimate interests of individuals and companies in the course of pre-trial proceedings pertinent to the reports of illegal banking operations is substantiated. The author also indicates that arbitrary interference of law enforcement agencies in legitimate business activity is unacceptable.