Some psychological aspects in application of the norms of the criminal code to the fight against economic crime

Olga Davidovna Sitkovskaya

1. The consistent recommendation of personal approach in the new Criminal Code, that is the demand to take into consideration the characteristics of the individual both when individualizing punishment and when solving a number of matters related to the responsibility for the deed itself, in full degree covers all the norms and institutions, used in the fight against economic crimes. In this connection it appears necessary to extend the use of professional psychological knowledge (not only in the form of expertise, but also in the form of consultations) in particular when using article 28 (innocent infliction of harm), article 35 (participation in organized forms of criminal activity), articles 39 and 41 (extreme necessity and valid risk), article 40 (physical and psychological compulsion), article 63 (aggravating circumstances), article 172 (illegal bank activity), article 179 (compulsion used for making a transaction or refusal from it),etc.

2. For instance, with cases related to economic crimes we quite often deal with unawareness of social danger of the deed (the person may be honestly under a delusion or say that his actions come under civil law). A psychologist may help in checking up such a version. Psychological knowledge is also necessary for interpretation of characteristics of organized criminal structures and what is the most important thing to bring it home to the participants of such structures themselves.

3. In cases of penetration of criminal structures into legal business the responsibility of representatives of such business to a great degree depends on estimation of physical or psychological compulsion, applied to them. It requires psychological expertise to decide whether such compulsion may deprive the guilty party of the ability to control his behaviour. The same is true about checking up the version produced by the creators of the “pyramids” that they allegedly acted on the basis of the institute of valid risk.

4. Very interesting psychological legal problems arise in relation to cases involving laundering of monetary means, acquired illegally. In actions of the bank employees we may deal with struggle of motives, including such as preference for bank secrecy, taking care of bank interests, etc. A psychologist's opinion here may be necessary for individualization of responsibilities. A law on expertise must provide for the extension of its use to cover cases related to economic crime.

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