Is it a preparation to ask for a bribe? "Sausage basket" and pies: Seven ways to disguise a bribe

If you are accused of accepting a bribe that you did not accept, you must take appropriate action immediately. Otherwise, you will have to be punished, up to imprisonment for up to fifteen years.

In this article we will answer the following questions: what is a bribe? What types of bribes exist and what penalties are provided for them? what to do if you are accused of taking a bribe? how to prove your innocence?

Bribe: concept and types

The concept of a bribe is spelled out in the article. According to it, a bribe is usually understood as the receipt by a public person of a certain amount of money/securities/personal property/services as payment for certain manipulations/inaction at the request of the bribe-giver.

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According to the current Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the person receiving a bribe is usually called the bribe-taker, and the person giving the bribe is called the bribe-giver.

In other words, the bribe-taker, having certain powers or influence in certain areas, promises to fulfill certain requests of the bribe-giver, or “turn a blind eye” to certain actions, for a fee/providing a counter service.

According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, not every transferred amount(or valuable property worth a certain amount) considered to be receiving a bribe. Thus, it is customary to distinguish:

• A small bribe not exceeding twenty-five thousand rubles;

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A bribe is considered not only the transfer of a certain amount of money, but also the transfer of securities and personal property of a certain value.

• A bribe in a significant amount, which exceeds twenty-five thousand rubles;
• A large bribe not exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand rubles;
• A particularly large bribe, exceeding one million rubles;

Unfortunately, today there is no Russian legislation. What does this mean? Any amount of money given to another person can be considered a bribe. In this case, it must be proven that in exchange for receiving a bribe, the official performed some actions of the bribe giver, or allowed him to commit some illegal actions, receiving a monetary reward for silence.

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The judge may refuse to initiate legal proceedings if the amount of the bribe, in his opinion, turns out to be too small (for example, five hundred rubles).

However, the situation is somewhat different with the transfer of material assets. Thus, according to Article 575 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a government entity does not have the right to accept material assets, even as a gift, whose value exceeds three thousand rubles.

Those. a gift in an amount exceeding three thousand rubles is automatically considered to be receiving/giving bribes and is accompanied by criminal prosecution.

Penalties

In order to challenge false accusations of accepting a bribe, you must take the following steps:

• Find a qualified legal specialist with impressive work experience and positive experience in resolving cases related to fraud, bribery, etc.;
• If there is no direct evidence of receiving a bribe on your initiative, try to prove the fact of provocation to give a bribe on the part of the person giving the bribe. Such evidence can be money planted in documents, a desk, an office, a car, money hidden in a purely symbolic gift (a vase, a painting, chocolates), etc. Those. When you accepted the gift, you had no idea that a bribe was hidden in it. If it is possible to prove the fact of ignorance when receiving a bribe, the charge of bribery will be dropped quickly;
• Prepare materials that prove innocence: a recording of the conversation during the transfer of a bribe, obtained from a voice recorder, testimony (people who heard the conversation were present when the bribe was transferred); comments from acquaintances or colleagues of the bribe giver who can tell how the bribe giver told them about his intention to organize a forgery of a bribe; documents serving as evidence of the legality of all actions of the false bribe-taker;
• If there is insufficient evidence confirming the innocence of the false bribe-taker, you will have to challenge the open criminal case in court;

Advice

If you actually accepted a bribe, knowing that it was a bribe and promising something in return, then it is better to admit guilt in the early stages of the case. Voluntary admission of accepting a bribe will help mitigate penalties.

Information from law enforcement agencies about the detention of university teachers for bribes has become commonplace. But the security forces, as a rule, do not talk about what precedes the arrest and how events develop further. Lawyer and law teacher Sergei Markin knows this first-hand: he has more than once had to defend fellow teachers in court. His experience shows that, as a rule, it is not the worst bribe takers that are encountered, and the detection of a crime, as a rule, is preceded by provocation.

Sergei Markin spoke about how teachers get caught taking bribes in an interview with the site’s editor, Marina Poyurova.

— Sergey, it’s clear that students give bribes. And they also report about bribe takers. It turns out somehow illogically: the student is interested in the teacher making his life easier by saving him from studying boring textbooks. And then the student himself rats out the teacher? In my opinion, only injustice can push a student to such a desperate act: he is ready to take an exam, and the teacher is brazenly extorting money.

— As a rule, you come across teachers who do not behave arrogantly or cynically at all. Students themselves are often surprised to learn which teachers have been detained. The most notorious bribe-takers are often warned in time and go into the shadows.

— How are arrests made?

— First, you need to understand how the anti-bribery system works. The Investigative Committee has departments to combat corruption in law enforcement agencies, government agencies, and higher education institutions. There is a department - there must be indicators. Where can I get them from?

At the level of rumors, there is always information that teachers at one or another university take bribes. But you need to catch him red-handed! And then they begin to look for students who agree to participate in the detention of the teacher.

— Does “participate in arrest” mean arranging a provocation?

“Everything is on the edge here.” Judges understand this very well and, as a rule, do not strictly punish teachers who take bribes, limiting themselves to a fine. In one of the Rostov universities, a teacher was recently sentenced to 4 years probation and a fine of 30 thousand rubles for taking a bribe.

— How do they work with students?

— First, the head of a law enforcement agency makes a decision to conduct an operational experiment based on a report from an operational officer about the detection of signs of a crime. Then the court receives permission to wiretap the teacher's phone. Then the student, usually the group leader, begins to negotiate with the teacher that he will give someone grades for money. All this is recorded by audio and video communications. As a result, they agree with the teacher about transferring money. The teacher is detained with witnesses, and the witnesses are often the same students who are either doing internships or are public assistants in law enforcement agencies. Then when you read in the protocol that someone happened to be walking down the street at 6 in the morning and was asked to take part in the arrest, it turns out funny, of course. This is, of course, a violation of the law, but it is difficult to prove.

— How then do students who set up their teacher live and study?

- Quite normal. Nobody blames them. These are not Pavlik Morozovs; as a rule, they do not show initiative. Everyone understands that these people were under pressure.

- What is the pressure?

“For example, a student sincerely donates money for a teacher in order to get a positive mark on an exam, but he does not know that an operational experiment is already being conducted against this teacher to detain him. If the student does everything that the investigation says, then he will be released from criminal liability for giving a bribe as a person who voluntarily reported a crime, if not, then he will become accused of giving a bribe. As a rule, such students agree to cooperate with the investigation. But a student may also be offered an incentive for cooperation with law enforcement agencies. I once asked the mother of a student who participated in the “exposure” of a bribe-taking teacher: “Why was it necessary to seduce a person? You understand that this is not good?” She replied that she understood everything, but her girl studied on a commercial basis, and they promised her that they would transfer her to the budget.

— How else do they encourage those who frame teachers?

- They can promise to put in a good word later, to hire you... I later saw such students - they became investigators, opera operators, that is, they purposefully strived for this from their student days. Students are told that they are doing the right thing, stopping crime. Perhaps they are convinced that they are behaving correctly, that this is the right thing to do.

— Have there been cases in your practice when a real bribe-taker was caught extorting money from students?

— There were, but this is an exception to the rule. The main problem arises with correspondence students. Full-time students show less initiative, they go to classes every day, attend lectures and seminars, it’s a sin for them not to prepare and fail. They even think they can save money by doing it.

But correspondence students are busy people, and the educational process is organized in such a way that it is difficult for them to prepare and pass on their own. And people understand that they really can’t pass. They are assigned 20 subjects per session, there is a test or exam every day, and they are given one night to prepare. With such a schedule, even if you are a genius, it is impossible to learn everything. Therefore, the correspondence students suggest that the teacher “disperse on a commercial basis.” And teachers who receive unfairly low salaries are tempted to agree.

— So you think that our universities, in principle, have created fertile ground for bribery?

— I won’t say that this was done intentionally, but in fact it is, but this does not justify teachers receiving illegal remuneration, unfortunately, this fertile soil creates in them the illusion that since the state cannot take care of their dignified existence, then why not cannot be done through private investment. In my opinion, the majority of teachers working in universities do their work conscientiously and principled, and it is on them that our higher education rests. These teachers need to be given all kinds of support, including financial support, so that they can continue to fulfill their civic duty conscientiously and on principle.

— Which universities in the city have the most cases of bribery?

“No university is immune from this. But I noticed that in Rostov there are universities that are more protected from such situations, and there are universities that are “whipping boys.”

- What does this depend on?

— Most likely, from the university management. In Rostov universities alone, there are practically no arrests. I will not name them, since readers already know which universities we are talking about. The last time I heard of one of these universities, they hired a deputy dean and gave him money to reinstate someone to continue their studies. Many teachers there, without a twinge of conscience, in plain text, name prices and the names of intermediaries. By the way, very often teachers themselves do not have direct contact with the student; they have intermediaries who make money from this, and sometimes teachers do not even know that such intermediaries take money from students on their behalf. If a student passes an exam or test, then he thinks that he passed it for money. If he fails, the intermediary returns the money to him, explaining that the teacher has changed his mind. According to my feelings, there is some kind of unspoken order not to touch teachers in the so-called untouchable universities. However, even in such untouchable universities, no one is immune from being detained for taking a bribe. I remember that the detention of the deputy dean at an untouchable university was not the only one; this also happened at another untouchable university, where the deputy dean was also detained for taking a bribe.

I think that some universities have an informal agreement with law enforcement agencies. If someone is really doing this, they come to the rector and say: “Either put things in order, or we will be forced to take measures ourselves”...

It happened that a bribe was used to remove someone from a position or simply fire them.

- Tell me more about this.

— In one of the Rostov universities there was a case with the head of the department. He was not a malicious bribe-taker, he was not impudent. I suspect that someone wanted to take his place. And then a certain student begins to persuade him: she is poor and unhappy, she has no time to study, how can she pass on a commercial basis. He says: “No need, go teach, come and pass.” But she persisted: “Maybe the department can help with something? Maybe I should buy some paper? Or will I give you the money and you will buy it yourself? That is, not for you personally, but for the department...” In the end, he agreed. And she brought 1000 rubles. Tagged. The man received, as far as I remember, three years of probation with a probationary period. He was not even deprived of his right to teach. But, of course, I was fired from my position as head of the department.

— What happens to a teacher after arrest? How long does the investigation take?

— As a rule, not for long, a year at most.

— Is the teacher suspended from work during this time or continues to work?

— Most often, the employer does not suspend the teacher from work unless the investigation itself makes such a petition to the court. As a rule, universities do not want to hire outside teachers. In addition, he should still be paid a salary, even if he does not work. However, as a rule, the university management persistently asks the teacher to resign of his own free will even before a guilty verdict is passed against him. Most often, this happens in order not to spoil the image of the university or to show others that the university management is waging a decisive fight against such teachers. In this case, the teacher is forced to obey the insistent request of the university management, so as not to aggravate an already difficult situation and not to be fired in the future for a bad article.

But some rectors still sympathize with the teachers and try to help them after the verdict is passed. According to the Labor Code, of course, having a criminal record prevents them from teaching, but nevertheless they can be retained to carry out scientific activities.

— Does the punishment depend on the size of the bribe?

— Of course, the punishment depends on the size of the bribe. If a bribe is received in an amount of up to 25,000 rubles, then the punishment can be either a fine from zero to a million rubles, but there can also be imprisonment for up to three years with a fine from ten to twenty times the amount of the bribe or without it. For a bribe of a significant amount, that is, from 25,000 to 150,000 rubles, the punishment will be more severe; for this there may be imprisonment for up to six years with a fine of thirty times the amount of the bribe. For a bribe on a large scale, that is, from 150,000 to a million rubles, there can be imprisonment for a term of seven to twelve years with a fine of sixty times the amount of the bribe. For Vyatka in an especially large amount, that is, from one million rubles, one can be imprisoned for a term of eight to fifteen years with a fine of seventy times the amount of the bribe. However, when a teacher receives a bribe, its size is determined for each episode and most often this size is not only not large, but also not significant. For example, when the headman is busy taking care of his group, each student must hand over some amount. All this is divided into several episodes. For example, 15 students collected one and a half thousand rubles each. Accordingly, the case is divided into these 15 episodes. A criminal case is initiated regarding bribes from each student. And then the punishment is determined by partial addition.

- But in this case, the period is longer than when the student is one on one with the teacher?

- No, the principle of partial addition of punishment applies.

— Are the fines high?

— For a bribe of up to 25,000 rubles, a fine ranging from zero to one million rubles is provided. If the bribe is more than this amount, then the amount of the fine is set as a multiple of the bribe amount, as was already mentioned earlier. The amount of the fine is determined by the judge himself. I remember there was a case when the court sentenced a teacher for taking a bribe in the form of a fine of 50 thousand without the right to teach at universities for a period of one year - and that’s all.

— What conclusion do teachers make after they learn that their colleague has been detained for a bribe?

- They sympathize with the people who got caught. It means the person was unlucky. Anyone could have been in his place.

— As a lawyer and as a teacher, what do you think needs to be done to ensure that teachers do not take bribes and show integrity?

- I think prevention is needed. The university management cannot but know what is happening, and students are rarely silent. In one of the Rostov universities there was a teacher who directly said that students would not pass without money, and named the prices. The students complained to the rector, who created a commission, marked the money and caught the bribe-taker red-handed. And then they threatened that if he did not leave the university himself, the video would be sent to law enforcement agencies.

It should be noted that requests to teachers are also very common in universities: they constantly ask for someone’s children or good friends. Some laboratory assistant comes up and says: “Here, he’s a good boy or girl, help me.” And the teacher helps in a purely human way.

But most importantly, teachers must have a decent salary. The work of teachers is undeservedly valued low, which is why it is easy to induce them to take a bribe. Of course, there are principled people who consider this shameful. And others act on the principle: if they give, then why not take...

Liability for receiving a bribe is regulated by Art. 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and can be either in the form of penalties or the possibility of receiving a real sentence.

Kinds

This act may have the following types, which determine the qualified types of bribe taking:

• Receiving gifts and services.
• Receiving significant sums of money that exceed 25 thousand rubles.
• Receiving large sums of money that exceed 150 thousand rubles.
• Receiving a bribe on an especially large scale - more than 1 million rubles.
• Officials: civil servants, law enforcement officers and other authorized persons.
• When organizing criminal activity - by a group of people in conspiracy.

Important! Receiving a bribe is considered a completed crime from the moment when the bribe-taker personally, by transfer to an account or through intermediary, accepted some remuneration from the bribe-giver for the provision of a service illegally.

How to prove receipt of a bribe?

For evidence, it is necessary to confirm the fact of the transfer of money or other funds to a certain person in exchange for performing an illegal action in favor of the briber.

In recent years, university students have been vigilant against teachers who extort money for a good grade, using a cell phone recorder or camera footage as evidence of a bribe. With these records, you can contact the police and initiate a criminal case.

With major officials, civil servants, representatives of administrative and municipal employees, the situation is much more complicated.

To do this, special operations are carried out to detain criminals at the scene of the crime, using dummies, marked banknotes and other special methods.

The grounds for proving bribery may be:

• recorded video and audio materials;
• witness's testimonies;
• receiving funds;
• arrest (with testimony) of the intermediary or bribe-giver;
• presence at the scene of the act of members of the anti-corruption committee.

Important! No oral statements will have legal force.

The proof is based on the absence of evidence, any relationship between persons that suggests the transfer of a significant amount of money. So, for example, if at the time of transfer of a certain amount one of the parties had a purchase and sale agreement in hand, it will be more difficult to prove the receipt of a bribe.

There will be testimony from witnesses who report that one party needed some actions or inactions from the other party and thereby received an offer in the form of a reward.

In conclusion, it should be noted that taking a bribe is a fairly serious crime for which they are subject to punishment and criminal liability.

ATTENTION! Due to recent changes in legislation, the information in this article may be out of date! Our lawyer will advise you free of charge - write in the form below.