Counterfeiting. Article 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in 2022: liability

Counterfeiting is one of the oldest types of crimes. It appeared from the time of the first money in the form of coins, and even then it was severely punished by the authorities.

The people in Russia, just as they lived poorly 500 years ago, live so poorly to this day. At the same time, he actively comes up with various ways to obtain wealth without burdening himself with legitimate labor.

Today, thanks to the rapid development of modern technologies, counterfeiting money has become much easier, but identifying such counterfeits is not particularly difficult for the authorities.

Counterfeiting under Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers to types of crimes in economic activity, and is called a little differently - “Manufacture, storage, transportation or sale of counterfeit money or securities.”

Counterfeiting: concept and legal features

Counterfeiting is the counterfeiting of money. The crime includes the production of counterfeit banknotes, their storage, transportation and sale.

Crime under Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is considered completed from the moment the bill is made, even if it has not yet been sold.

The production of money presupposes the presence of special laboratories and devices with the help of which fake money is produced en masse.

Counterfeiting can occur either partially or completely . Partial counterfeiting of money is a change in serial numbers or the application of any signs. Complete counterfeiting is the creation of banknotes from scratch.

Selling fake money is an attempt to put counterfeit money into circulation. Counterfeiters try to buy something in stores, change banknotes in stalls where machines for checking the authenticity of banknotes are not installed.

So, the following financial instruments can be considered as money:

Bank notes of the Bank of Russia;
Metal coins;
Securities in domestic or foreign currency: shares, bonds, bills, checks, etc.

Moreover, the crime applies not only to those monetary units that circulate freely on the market, but also to those that have been withdrawn from circulation and are subject to exchange for other banknotes.

How to correctly qualify the crime?

The issue or release of funds is a function of the state, namely the Bank of Russia. No one else can issue money.

Money is not just pieces of paper; it must be backed by the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserves. Unsecured funds have no value and should be immediately withdrawn from circulation.

So, the crime of counterfeiters looks like this:

The subject is various types of banknotes and securities, the production of which was illegal.
The object is economic and social relations, as well as the status of the country's monetary system.
The objective side presupposes the presence or absence of laboratories for the production of money in the crime, the period of work of counterfeiters, and options for selling banknotes. It is not at all necessary that the criminal pay with a counterfeit bill. He can transfer it to someone else or repay a debt to a friend with fake money.
To be attracted under Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation can be a subject who has reached the age of 16 years and is recognized as sane. A person who became the owner of a counterfeit banknote, of which he was aware, but did not produce it himself, may also be brought forward as a suspect in the case.
The subjective side of the criminal act involves direct intent to sell counterfeit products. If there is no sales purpose, there will also be no criminal charges.

If a new buyer or owner of a counterfeit sells it on the market, the crime will be classified as aiding the sale. And if the sale of the bill does not happen for any reason, this act will already be recognized as preparation for sale.

An attempt to sell a counterfeit banknote will be recognized as an act in which the seller refused to accept a means of payment, regardless of the reasons for his behavior.

That is, even if the seller simply does not have change and therefore does not sell you the goods, your behavior will be recognized as a criminal attempt to sell.

Methods for making counterfeit money

In order for a person to become the subject of a crime, he must forge at least one copy of a banknote or security.

Such inventors are usually caught in sales . They reliably guard their clandestine laboratories, without arousing the suspicion of others and law enforcement officers.

If the place of manufacture is closed by the police, they will be charged with manufacturing, storage, and sales. If a criminal is caught selling banknotes, then only sale.

There are three ways to make counterfeit signs:

Manual method;
Computer method;
Using special cliches.

The manual method has practically become obsolete today, and the computer method and the method of casting real cliches are widely practiced, both separately and together.

Lawyer's comments to Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Need the help of a lawyer under Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?

The concepts used in the article, as well as the signs of this crime, are disclosed in the legislation regulating relations related to the circulation of money and securities, as well as in Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated April 28, 1994 No. 2.

Bank notes of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which are discussed in the commented article, are called banknotes in the legislation of positive regulation (Article 29 of the Federal Law of July 10, 2002 N 86-FZ “On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)”). If we talk about money, then based on clause 1, part 1, art. 1 of the Federal Law of December 10, 2003 N 173-FZ “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control”, according to the commented article, liability comes for counterfeiting banknotes in the form of banknotes and coins of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, banknotes in the form of banknotes, treasury bills, coins, not only those in circulation and being a legal means of cash payment on the territory of the Russian Federation and on the territory of the corresponding foreign state (group of foreign states), but also those banknotes that are withdrawn or withdrawn from circulation, but subject to exchange.
On the concept of securities, see comment. to Art. 185. The concept, types, forms and other government securities are discussed in Art. Art. 2 - 4, etc. Federal Law of July 29, 1998 N 136-FZ “On the peculiarities of the issue and circulation of state and municipal securities” (as amended on June 14, 2012)
The production for the purpose of sale and sale of banknotes and securities withdrawn from circulation (old coins, Soviet money abolished by monetary reforms, etc.) and having only collection value do not constitute a crime under the commented article, and must, if there are grounds for this, qualify as fraud.

Corpus delicti

The crime includes both partial counterfeiting of banknotes or securities (alteration of the denomination of a genuine banknote, counterfeiting the number, series of a bond and other details of money and securities), and the production of completely counterfeit money and securities.
The production of counterfeit banknotes or securities is a completed crime if at least one banknote or security is manufactured for the purpose of subsequent sale, regardless of whether the sale of the counterfeit was successful.
The sale of counterfeit money or securities consists of using them as a means of payment when paying for goods and services, exchanging, donating, lending, selling, etc. The acquisition of deliberately counterfeit money or securities for the purpose of their subsequent sale as genuine should be qualified as preparation for sale.
If a person tried to use a counterfeit bill to purchase goods, but the seller of the goods refused to accept this bill, in particular, due to the seller’s lack of opportunity to give change (lack of change money) or due to doubts about the authenticity of the bill, the act should be qualified as attempted sale. However, a failed attempt by a person to sell a counterfeit banknote made by himself should be classified as a completed crime.
Although the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Resolution No. 2 of April 28, 1994 defined sales as the use of counterfeit banknotes as a means of payment, it clarified that in this capacity they act not only when paying for goods and services, bartering, lending, but also when selling or donation, i.e. when counterfeit money and papers are not a means of payment, but the subject of an agreement. It is therefore more correct to regard both the sale and use of counterfeit money and securities under the guise of an appropriate means of payment (as a means of payment), and other transfer of relevant items to another person, with the exception, obviously, of transfer for temporary storage.
Based on the understanding of sales as the use of counterfeit banknotes specifically as an appropriate means of payment, in order to qualify actions as sales, it is necessary that the person receiving such items, whether for a fee or free of charge, is not aware of their counterfeitness. Therefore, the sale of counterfeit money to a person who, knowingly for the seller, knows that it is counterfeit and who intends to use it in the future as real money does not constitute a complete sale. The seller’s actions must be regarded: if the buyer subsequently sold the said counterfeit money, as assistance in the sale, and if it did not take place for reasons beyond the seller’s control, then as preparation for sale (by virtue of Part 5 of Article 34 of the Criminal Code). ——————————— Konyushkin I. Problems of qualification of counterfeiting // Criminal law. 2000. N 2.

Subject of the crime

The subjective side of manufacturing for the purpose of selling or selling counterfeit money, government securities or foreign currency is characterized by direct intent. Failure to produce a product for sale excludes criminal liability. The subject of the crime is common.

Determining the size of the crime

The large size of this crime according to the note. to Art. 169 of the Criminal Code must exceed 1 million 500 thousand rubles. When calculating the size of a crime, practice is based on two criteria: firstly, from the denomination indicated on counterfeit banknotes and, secondly, from the cost of goods purchased with counterfeit money (in the case of an appropriate form of distribution).

On the concept of an organized group, see comment. to Art. 35 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Qualifying as fraud

In cases where the obvious discrepancy between a counterfeit banknote and a genuine one, which excludes its participation in monetary circulation, as well as other circumstances of the case, indicate the intention of the perpetrator to grossly deceive a limited number of people, such actions can be qualified as fraud. The illegal acquisition by a person of someone else’s property as a result of transactions with counterfeit money or securities committed by him is covered by the composition of the commented article and does not require additional qualifications under the relevant articles providing for liability for theft.

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Term for counterfeiting

Types of liability and penalties are prescribed in parts 1, 2 and 3 of Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The choice of punishment is made based on the circumstances of a particular crime. Below we will describe in detail how much they give for counterfeiting money.

Thus, the habitual production, storage, sale or transportation of counterfeit money is punishable by one or more of the following penalties:

Forced labor for up to 5 years;
Imprisonment for up to 8 years;
Fine up to 1 million rubles;
Fine in the amount of the convicted person's income for up to 5 years.

The same crime, but committed on a large scale, provides for liability:

Imprisonment for up to 12 years;
Fine up to 1 million rubles;
Fine in the amount of the convicted person’s income for up to 5 years;
Restriction of freedom up to 1 year.

In this case, fines and restriction of freedom act as additional types of punishment.

A large crime implies that the denomination or value of the goods purchased with counterfeit money exceeds 1 million 500 thousand rubles.

Identical criminal acts, but committed by an organized group of persons, are punished in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

Imprisonment for up to 15 years;
Fine up to 1 million rubles;
A fine in the amount of the convicted person’s income for a period of up to 5 years;
Restriction of freedom up to 2 years.

If counterfeit banknotes do not participate in the circulation of funds, and clearly do not correspond to the original money, and are created to mislead a certain group of people, then such an act can be qualified as fraud.

Object of counterfeiting

Such an object is considered to be relations in society that develop in the monetary sphere of our country or other countries when it comes to the production of counterfeit foreign money. Any money is issued only by a specialized state organization. This right is protected by law.

Counterfeiting, like any other crime, must be qualified. For this, it is very important what exactly in this case is the subject of the crime. It can be:

tickets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation;
metal coins;
securities having value in the state currency of the Russian Federation;
foreign money;
securities having value in the currencies of other countries.

Any of the above valuables can be counterfeited. This is the essence of the counterfeiting process. The very concept of “fake” has the meaning of “unofficially manufactured,” that is, counterfeit. Usually, criminals counterfeit exactly the money that is currently in use and can be easily handled. In this case, absolute external compliance is maintained. A thin, high-quality fake is a criminal crime.

If criminals make money that is no longer in use, or that is of interest to collectors, this crime is considered fraud. The same violation will be qualified when a fraudster tries to sell a very crude counterfeit that an ordinary person can notice.

Judicial practice and statistics

The fight against counterfeiters is not only a problem for Russia. All over the world they are actively fighting this phenomenon.

In this regard, as part of a preventive policy to prevent counterfeiting, the International Convention for the Suppression of Counterfeiting of Currency was adopted in 1929.

In our country, this act has been ratified, which means that we act within the framework of the document.

In Russia, in the Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation No. 2 “On judicial practice under Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation" states that such crimes significantly undermine the authority of the local currency and create huge problems in controlling money circulation.

Resolution of the Plenum of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation No. 48 indicated that any illegal manipulations with electronic money, computer programs that carry out money transfers, the motive of which is the commission of crimes such as theft, fraud, etc., in cases where the crime has not ended , will be considered under Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Based on statistics published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, money in our country is practically not counterfeited on a particularly large scale.

Therefore, the majority of cases end with a sentence of 2-5 years in prison. Moreover, in 60% of cases the punishment is suspended.

In more than half of the cases under Art. 186 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, judges impose penalties for criminal acts. A term of more than 10 years of actual imprisonment was recorded in only 1% of cases in such criminal cases.

According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation for 2022, counterfeiters most often counterfeit banknotes with a face value of 1,000 rubles. or 500 rub. Hundred-ruble or fifty-ruble bills are practically not counterfeited in the country.

Counterfeiting is an economic criminal offense committed for the express purpose of profit and material gain . Such acts are always associated with an attempt to sell manufactured counterfeit products.

Now the number of such crimes has decreased significantly, which is due to a reduction in cash circulation in the country and the creation of requirements for control over the circulation of funds.

Each store today is equipped with a special device that allows banknotes to shine through; the number of spontaneous markets and stalls has decreased significantly. However, the problem is still acute.

Even if all cash disappears from circulation, criminals will learn to forge digital signatures, steal passwords from accounts, and will again continue to steal other people’s money.

Video: Counterfeiting

Forms of counterfeiting

This crime can be committed in the following forms:

money is produced for the purpose of subsequent sale;
securities and coins are stored and transported for the purpose of subsequent sale
direct sale of counterfeit monetary values.

Fraudsters may also produce money that is only partially counterfeit. Namely, during the examination the following were discovered:

counterfeit banknote or bond number;
counterfeit series of securities;
changed denomination of the banknote.

After making counterfeits, criminals try to sell them in different ways. They put them into use by making purchases, exchanging, borrowing. The criminal may also present a bond or check for payment.

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