Statute of limitations for fraud: including on an especially large scale

Fraud is a private-public crime. This means that swindlers can be punished only upon the application of the victim.

Criminal liability arises under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The statute of limitations for fraud depends on which part of the article the criminal act is classified under.

Failure to comply with the time for filing a claim allows scammers to avoid punishment.

Limitation in criminal law

Legal theorists often debate the existing limits of limitation in criminal proceedings. There is disagreement over the time period during which law enforcement and judicial authorities must bring the accused to justice in accordance with criminal law. In reality, the law precisely determines the period in each specific case.

Article 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation determines the possibility of release from liability if the period when it is possible to investigate the case and transfer it to the court for choosing a preventive measure and pronouncing a verdict expires. The limitation period is established in accordance with the established measure of responsibility:

slight severity - 2 years;
average severity – 6 years;
felony - 10 years;
especially serious – 15 years.

Note! The main reason for the cancellation of the trial and the onset of liability occurs when the statute of limitations for the act established by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation expires. The government persecution officially ends.

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Member of the Russian State Duma Committee on Non-Bank Credit Institutions. Has been involved in bankruptcy proceedings since 2015.

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An important point is to establish a statute of limitations if several fraudulent acts were committed against one or more persons. The period will be counted for each episode of crime. In this case, each time the gravity of the committed act is taken into account.

Primary market

Buying an apartment in a new building is the dream of many, especially young married couples. There are many schemes used by scammers. Here, for example, is one of them:

"From scratch". A fake company is created, allegedly being a development company that plans to build an apartment building. In fact, there is no building, the entire plan is in words or papers. This fictitious organization submits a beautiful announcement about the start of construction and the acceptance of payment for future apartments; accordingly, the offered prices are an order of magnitude lower than the market ones. The scammers look like a serious company, they even give excursions to the future construction site and introduce you to the technical documentation. But after collecting funds from a certain number of victims, it turns out that the organization as such did not exist, and all the “founders” had long since disappeared.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples of similar developers, but it is not always possible to find the culprits.

Statute of limitations for fraud

The statute of limitations for fraud is calculated from the moment of the crime until the date on which the court decision entered into legal force. According to Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the day of commission of the act is recognized as the moment of theft of money or real estate. We can also talk about acquiring ownership of property if it was obtained through a breach of trust or as a result of deception.

The severity of the crime committed and the amount of damage caused are taken into account:

Part one. Involves the theft or acquisition of rights to someone else's property through abuse of trust or deception.	The maximum penalty is set at two years in prison. The act is classified as minor. Therefore, in accordance with Art. 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the statute of limitations does not exceed two years.
Part two. Committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, causing significant damage.	The maximum penalty is up to 5 years in prison, and the act is classified as a crime of medium gravity. In this case, the statute of limitations does not exceed 6 years.
Part three. Provides for fraudulent actions committed using official position or on a large scale.	The penalty is up to 6 years of imprisonment, and the crime is classified as a serious crime with a statute of limitations of up to 10 years.
Part four. It is committed on a particularly large scale or by a group of persons, and may also lead to the deprivation of the victims’ rights to residential premises.	Imprisonment is established for up to 10 years. The crime is also serious, for which liability is provided in the amount of a similar period (up to ten years).
Part five. Intentional failure to fulfill contractual obligations within the framework of business activities is assumed.	Criminal liability is provided for up to 5 years of imprisonment. The act is classified as a crime of medium gravity. The limitation period is up to 6 years.
Part six. The crimes from the previous paragraph are provided, but on a large scale.	Penalty is provided for up to 6 years in prison. Defined as a felony. The statute of limitations is determined to be 10 years.
Part seven. We are talking about crimes from paragraph five, but on an especially large scale.	The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison. The crime is classified as serious, and the statute of limitations is ten years.

If the article involves fraud, the period of prosecution ranges from 2 to 10 years. This takes into account the amount of damage caused, as well as the degree of severity established.

When does it start?

First of all, you need to determine the start date of the period. So, when fraud is committed, the statute of limitations for attracting may differ. The following methods are used:

from the day the crime was committed;
from the date when the victim learned about the commission of a criminal act and sent a corresponding statement to law enforcement agencies.

A typical calculation of the term can be called a violation of the rights of shareholders when purchasing apartments in apartment buildings. Buyers enter into an agreement and pay the amount immediately or in installments. Often, victims learn about the fact of fraud only after the disappearance of the management team of the developer company. It is in such cases that the statute of limitations begins to count from the moment the application is submitted to law enforcement agencies.

Calculation of the statute of limitations

The law precisely defines the statute of limitations depending on the severity of the crime committed. The period is set from 2 to 10 years. But at the same time, you need to perform specific calculations to avoid mistakes.

The period is calculated from the date of commission of the criminal act until the day the court decision enters into legal force. When the Criminal Code has been violated repeatedly, the limitation period is calculated separately for each episode.

Corpus delicti

The legislation provides for administrative or criminal liability for beatings under Art. 6.1.1 Code of Administrative Offenses and Articles 116, 116.1 and 117 of the Criminal Code. They have a similar composition with some differences in the object of the crime (Article 116.1 of the Criminal Code) and motives (Article 116 of the Criminal Code).

An object

Beatings violate a person’s right to physical integrity, humiliate him as a person, and damage the health and mental state of the victim.

Objective side

“Battery” refers to blows or other acts of a violent nature directed against the victim and causing pain:

pinching;
bites;
hair pulling;
twisting of limbs;
pinching or squeezing of a body part;
flogging.

Number of beats

Strikes or other actions must be performed multiple times (more than twice). Inflicting one blow cannot be considered beating. This violation (in the absence of harm to health) will be classified as hooliganism under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation or insult.

Consequences of the beating

Additionally, in the case where the beatings did not violate the anatomical integrity of the body tissues, but led to physical pain and ailments, they will also be taken into account in the medical report. The forensic expert will record the victim’s complaints and also indicate that there are no visual signs of damage and the severity of the harm has not been determined.

. Beatings can do without visible consequences or leave superficial damage on the body:

Beatings can do without visible consequences or leave superficial damage on the body:

abrasions;
scratches;
bruising;
bruises;
small wounds.

However, they do not lead to temporary or permanent disability. Although, such consequences may not occur immediately, but over time. In this case, the act will be reclassified as “harm to health” under articles of the Criminal Code - 115, 112 or 111, depending on the severity of the injuries. The article discusses the criteria for determining the severity of harm to health.

Subject

Responsibility for battery is borne by an individual aged 16 years or older who was in a sane state at the time of the commission of the crime. Taking into account the changes made to the Criminal Code by Federal Law No. 323 of July 3, 2016, the subject of a crime classified under Art. 116.1 of the Criminal Code, is a close relative of the victim:

spouse;
parent (adoptive parent);
son (daughter), including adopted one;
sibling;
grandfather grandmother);
grandson;
brother-in-law, matchmaker;
guardian (trustee);
person running a joint household.

For amendments to Article 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Beatings”, see the following video

Subjective side

An unlawful act is committed with direct intent - causing pain to the victim is the conscious goal of the offender

If the damage was caused unintentionally, it is identified as minor harm to health caused by negligence (you can read about unintentional harm to health). This violation is not subject to criminal punishment

However, the victim can file a civil lawsuit against the perpetrator and recover compensation from him for material and moral damage.

The motives for the beating affect his qualifications. Thus, criminal liability for beatings under Art. 116 of the Criminal Code threatens a criminal who has committed an act from:

Hooligan motives.
Ideological principles.
Hatred towards representatives of a certain: political group;
race or nationality;
religion;
social group.

If the beating occurred out of personal hatred towards the victim, the violation will be qualified under Art. 6.1.1 Code of Administrative Offences.

Grounds for suspension

The suspension of the statute of limitations becomes the circumstance that temporarily terminates it. In accordance with Part 3 of Art. 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, from the moment of commission of a crime, execution of an investigation procedure or consideration of a case in court, the period may cease. This is often due to the inability to locate the accused or suspect. As soon as the investigator finds this citizen or the latter himself turns himself in, the statute of limitations will continue to run.

Most lawyers agree that the article has a flaw, because the accused or suspect cannot in any way influence the course of the case. In this case, the period of validity of the suspension is not fixed in any way and is indefinite. This period only resumes if the alleged perpetrator is found.

Note! The law does not establish the difference whether a person who has committed a serious crime will be hiding from the court or whether we are talking about a person who is charged with a crime of minor or moderate gravity. At the same time, there previously existed a rule establishing a 15-year statute of limitations for everyone who had not committed a new crime.

This you need to know: In Russia, the punishment for deliberate bankruptcy has been tightened

How to protect yourself from scammers and lawsuits

Before concluding a transaction, especially on the secondary market, carefully study all documents on real estate and owners. Errors, forgeries, lack of consent of one of the owners - all this can lead to the transaction being declared invalid.

The main step when checking real estate is obtaining an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate. In it you can see all the main characteristics of the property, information about the owners, sales history, the presence of encumbrances and many other factors that may be a warning sign. If you see that the seller has owned the property for more than three years, then there is much less risk.

If fraud is on a particularly large scale

When determining the statute of limitations for fraud, the degree of severity is taken into account. Actions that caused damage on a particularly large scale deserve special attention. We are talking about a loss of more than 1 million rubles. In this case, the statute of limitations reaches 10 years.

The law provides for liability under Part 4 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for committing fraud on an especially large scale or by a group of persons. Illegal actions due to which a citizen lost his rights to his own residential premises are also taken into account.

There is also criminal liability in accordance with Part 7 of Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which concerns crimes within the framework of contractual relations in the business sphere. If a crime is committed on a particularly large scale, a similar statute of limitations is established.

Definition

If beating loved ones or other violent actions did not lead to consequences (specified in paragraph 115), but caused physical suffering (Part 1), then the punishment may be in the form of:

compulsory work (about 360 hours);
correctional labor (up to 1 year);
imprisonment (up to 2 years);
forced labor (about 2 years).

Punishments are now becoming stricter. Let's figure out what falls under paragraph 115 of the Criminal Code. It refers to the intentional infliction of light harm to health, causing loss of ability to work for a short period of time.

If the harm to health is caused to moderate severity (art.

112) or more seriously, subsequent punishments are dictated under other articles and conditions (state of passion, negligence, exceeding self-defense measures, etc.) of the Criminal Code

This is interesting! Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - robbery: text, explanations and comments

These crimes are directed against a person’s personality and can be committed by a group of persons or by one person, characterized by a violation of the biological integrity of the victim’s body or its parts.

“Battery” is now considered illegal actions related to subjects who are relatives or individuals. persons with common property, but if they are not such, violators bear administrative liability.

In addition, people whose motive for beating others is racial, religious, national hostility and hatred, personal hostility towards a particular social group, or hooligan motives are brought to criminal liability under this article.

Please note: this type of criminal case is initiated on the basis of a statement and medical certificate of beatings from the victim, and now it is impossible to withdraw this statement.

Therefore, before submitting it to the authorities, consider the decision more carefully. Perhaps it is better to punish the offender in a material form from under the “stick”.

Example:

The consequences of beatings may take some time to show themselves. A woman who was beaten by her husband was hospitalized due to severe headaches and nausea. Diagnosis: traumatic brain injury. A forensic medical examination was carried out and the circumstances of the incident were clarified. As a result, the husband was arrested for 5 years for serious bodily harm, this is already Article 112.

Cases when the deadline does not apply

The statute of limitations is automatic. Thus, for a minor crime in the field of fraud, an investigator cannot prosecute a person after two years from the date of commission of illegal actions. The same applies to serious crimes if 10 years have already passed.

In fact, prosecution is canceled when the statute of limitations expires for almost all crimes due to a number of circumstances:

the relevance of this process is lost;
attracting a person will not help you find capital after decades;
Even with a significant amount of damage, compensation does not occur.

The exception is especially grave ideas associated with a high social danger, when it is necessary to restore social justice. As a rule, crimes in the field of fraud do not apply to them. But the term may not be taken into account if the fraudster resorts to violent crimes.

Voidable transaction

Voidable transactions can only be declared invalid in court proceedings. Here are examples of voidable transactions:

One of the parties entered into the transaction as a result of fraud, coercion, or threat from the other party.
The victim entered into a transaction as a result of being materially misled. For example, when instead of a two-story country house, the buyer received a dilapidated two-story barn.
The transaction was concluded by a person with limited legal capacity. This includes people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs.
The transaction was concluded with a child between 14 and 18 years of age without the consent of parents, guardians or trustees.
The deal was concluded for an apartment, not all of whose owners gave their consent.

After the transaction is declared invalid, both parties must return to the original owners everything they received under the transaction. The buyer returns the property, and the seller returns the money. If something happens to the property and there is no way to return it, it is necessary to reimburse the cost.

Statute of limitations on loan agreements

The lending sector deserves special attention, where liability depends on the size of obligations. The legislator defines serious differences between fraud and other violations in this area. For example, when a borrower violates the repayment deadline, he cannot be called a fraudster. If, when submitting a request, false data was submitted and there were no payments on the loan, we can talk about fraudulent actions.

Typically, the statute of limitations is 2 years. If a crime is committed by a group of people, this period increases to 10 years. But such acts are difficult to prove for the following reasons:

it is necessary to prove the commission of crimes by several persons;
preliminary conspiracy is determined;
the circumstance is indicated by the lack of payments on the loan, but this is not enough to determine guilt.

The financial institution must meet the two-year deadline in order not to miss the period for contacting law enforcement authorities. The moment when this time begins to flow is defined as the day when payments on loan obligations stop being received.

A methodology is also used according to which the period begins from the moment the contract expires. But it can only be used in relation to mortgage agreements, car loans or consumer loans. As for credit cards, this option cannot be used, since they do not have an expiration date.

Articles:

Limitation period for economic crimes in Russia

Limitation period for compensation for moral damage and property damage

Amnesty

An amnesty for economic crimes, as well as an amnesty for other criminal offenses, is expected this year. In December 2017, it was not yet clear whether there would be an amnesty in 2022. However, it was decided that the amnesty will take place in 2022.

The amnesty in criminal cases will be timed to coincide with Victory Day. The amnesty will apply to those who have committed minor crimes, have been convicted for the first time, or have young children in their care.

Thus, this year people convicted of economic crimes can expect to receive an amnesty.

Also in December 2022, a tax amnesty was signed. This means that in 2022, individuals and individual entrepreneurs will have their tax debts, which are currently listed as of January 1, 2015, forgiven.

In addition, for individual entrepreneurs and individuals who were previously engaged in private legal practice, tax debts that had accumulated as of January 1, 2017 will be written off.

The above categories of citizens are automatically eligible for amnesty; there is no need to apply to the Federal Tax Service for this.

Of course, many economic crimes have a very short statute of limitations due to the fact that they are usually considered light.

However, you should not hope that you will be able to avoid punishment by committing economic crimes.

You can learn about what is covered by the tax amnesty from this video:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=njeE3qIynKI%3Fecver%3D1

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Black realtors

Everyone has probably heard such a phrase, since legends can already be made about “black realtors”; they are constantly mentioned in crime news and reports, as well as in all possible media. The main victims of criminals are elderly and lonely people, disabled people, people with drug or alcohol addiction. “Black realtors” use a method in which it is quite difficult to prove their guilt, and sometimes even impossible. The fact is that the main task that scammers set for themselves is to get a person to voluntarily sign all the necessary documents.

And the ways to achieve what is planned are sometimes simply terrifying, for example:

use of psychotropic substances, alcohol and drugs in relation to the victim;
unlawful recognition of a person as incompetent or mentally unstable;
threats, blackmail, humiliation;
labor slavery.

By all these methods, criminals bring a person to a state in which he simply agrees to all the conditions. Such methods were actively in “demand” in the so-called “dashing 90s” and at the beginning of the 21st century, but even now, in our modern society, there are enough cases of such practice.

Lifetime maintenance agreement

Provides for the transfer of real estate in favor of a certain person with the receipt of lifelong maintenance in favor of the alienator by the acquirer. In most cases, this agreement is resorted to by single elderly people who, due to life or other circumstances, are left without relatives or without means of subsistence. The scam lies in the fact that sometimes, under the pretext of concluding a lifelong maintenance agreement, a gift agreement is placed on the victim, and the person, without realizing it, signs the transfer of his apartment or house into the ownership of the scammers.

And dozens of similar schemes can be cited, unfortunately, it’s just imagination, and most importantly, the opportunities, including financial ones, for the swindlers are significant. In most cases, such illegal acts are carried out by groups of people with good financial investments and a thorough understanding and ability to use loopholes in the law, as well as in case of using brute force, and special personnel who are not averse to engaging in such activities.