Main Directions of Counteracting Intentional and Fraudulent Bankruptcy

Abstract

Crimes and crime-counteraction activities are among the key problems that any country faces in the modern world. Features typical only of crime — its mass character, irregularity and variability — make it necessary to constantly improve countermeasures that should be dynamic and proactive, should contain a considerable humanitarian potential, and contribute to the minimization of social consequences of crime. Russian legislators established a triad of key directions of counteracting criminality in general, its specific types, and individual crimes. Applying this concept of crime counteraction to intentional and fraudulent bankruptcy, the liability for which is provided for in Art. 196, 197 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the authors single out and examine the following directions: criminal law counteraction to intentional and fraudulent bankruptcy; prevention of intentional and fraudulent bankruptcy; minimization of negative consequences of intentional and fraudulent bankruptcy. Criminal law counteraction includes the detection, prevention, suppression, investigation and solving of criminal bankruptcy cases, as well as the prosecution of perpetrators. Talking about the criminal law counteraction to these crimes, the authors conclude that the effectiveness and productivity of the work of law enforcement bodies to suppress, investigate and solve crimes under Art. Art. 196, 197 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation directly depends on their close cooperation with various state control bodies, primarily, tax authorities, and on the quality of feedback. They present a list of specific measures of general, special and individual prevention of intentional and fraudulent bankruptcy, and offer a brief description of minimizing the negative consequences of these crimes. It is noted that the courts can use the following mechanisms to protect the violated rights of creditors: subsidiary liability of persons controlling the debtor, compensation of some part of damages by the controlling persons, all of which will contribute to the minimization of negative consequences of their unlawful actions.