Criminal liability for extortion (Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)

1. Extortion, that is, the demand for the transfer of someone else’s property or the right to property or the commission of other actions of a property nature under the threat of violence or destruction or damage to someone else’s property, as well as under the threat of dissemination of information disgracing the victim or his relatives, or other information that may cause significant harm to the rights or legitimate interests of the victim or his relatives - is punishable by restriction of freedom for a term of up to four years, or forced labor for a term of up to four years with or without restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years, or by arrest for a term of up to six months, or imprisonment for a term of up to four years with a fine in the amount of up to eighty thousand rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to six months, or without it.

2. Extortion committed: a) by a group of persons by prior conspiracy; b) the clause became invalid on December 11, 2003 - Federal Law of December 8, 2003 N 162-FZ; c) with the use of violence; d) on a large scale - punishable by imprisonment for a term of up to seven years with a fine in the amount of up to five hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to three years, or without it and with restriction of freedom for a term of up to two years, or without it.

3. Extortion committed: a) by an organized group; b) in order to obtain property on a particularly large scale; c) causing grievous harm to the health of the victim, - d) the clause became invalid on December 11, 2003 - Federal Law of December 8, 2003 N 162-FZ, - punishable by imprisonment for a term of seven to fifteen years with a fine of up to one million rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to five years or without it and with or without restriction of freedom for a period of up to two years.

Corpus delicti

An object

This is the property of another person and its inviolability, guaranteed by the Constitution of Russia.

Subject

This is a blackmailer who must have three characteristics:

• sanity;
• capacity;
• age from 14 years.

Objective side

This is an act that consists of two parts:

• demand for money, property or rights to it, for example, drawing up a deed of gift for an apartment;
• threat of committing any violent actions against the victim or his relatives.

Violence can be expressed in physical violence, for example, in beatings, or it can be psychological in nature, for example, a blackmailer can threaten the victim with the dissemination of information that constitutes her personal secret.

Subjective side

The crime is committed with intent, that is, the extortionist realizes the criminal nature of his actions and continues to commit them.

Plenum of the Supreme Court: damage in cases of extortion is equal to damage from theft

The plenum of the RF Supreme Court adopted a resolution on cases of extortion, which will replace the 25-year-old explanations given to the courts. The new document contains many provisions that have been proven over years of practice, but there are also fundamental innovations. For example, it is proposed to determine the amount of large and especially large damage caused by the actions of an extortionist in the same way as in the case of theft.

Today the Plenum of the Supreme Court adopted a resolution “On judicial practice in cases of extortion.” Its text was first submitted for discussion on December 10 (see “The Supreme Court has developed a procedure for distinguishing between extortion and similar offenses” and “The Supreme Court has clarified what is considered “defamatory information” in extortion and how to qualify SMS threats”), but a week ago it was not accepted due to the large number of proposed additions. The need for a new document is long overdue, since now judges who pass sentences under Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, we have to take into account the explanations given by the Plenum of the Supreme Court 25 years ago, under Art. 148 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. Meanwhile, every year Russian courts prosecute about 2,500 people for extortion. The editorial committee made small but important corrections to the document.

Threat and demand

Extortion is a crime consisting of two “components”: a demand and a threat with which it is accompanied. Moreover, paragraph 6 of the document states that Part 1 of Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation presupposes the presence of a threat of any violence, including the threat of murder or causing grievous harm to health. The victim must perceive such a threat realistically (the courts will determine this), and when assessing it, it does not matter whether the extortionist intends to carry it out immediately or in the future. Threats can be of various kinds - from causing physical harm to the victim or his loved ones to disseminating information that defames him (or them).

The edited paragraph 2 specifies the subject of extortion. It can be someone else's property: things, including cash and non-cash money, documentary and uncertificated securities, as well as property rights, including claims and exclusive rights. It also talks about what the “right to property” is, which the extortionist demands to transfer to him. This is “the ability, certified in documents, to exercise the powers of the owner or legal possessor in relation to certain property.” As the speaker, Supreme Court Judge Elena Peisikova explained, similar wording is contained in the explanations given by the Plenum on fraud cases.

He explained to the Supreme Court what “other actions of a property nature” are that can be demanded from the victim. They are not associated with the direct transfer of property rights, but still cause damage. For example, these could be demands for paid work to be carried out free of charge or paid services provided, demands for the victim to fulfill property obligations for the perpetrator, and so on.

Paragraph 7 of the resolution states that extortion should be considered a completed crime when the demands of the extortionist, coupled with a threat, are brought to the attention of the victim. “The failure of the victim to comply with this requirement does not affect the legal assessment of the act as a completed crime,” the document clarifies. Peysikova, during a previous discussion of the document, clarified that this message can be expressed both orally and in writing, for example in a letter (paper or electronic) or SMS message.

Who is considered a victim?

After the previous discussion, the editorial commission, at the request of the judges, introduced a new clause 4 into the document, which states who is the victim in the extortion case. They may be recognized not only as the owner or legal owner, but also as another actual owner of the property (for example, a person who protects the property or has access to it due to official duties or personal relationships) who has suffered physical, property or moral harm.

One crime or several?

Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Sabir Kekhlerov had only one comment about the project. He noted that in the 25-year-old resolution there is a clause explaining when cases of extortion should be classified as a repeated crime, and when - as a continuing crime, but in the new document there are no such clarifications.

Having listened to the opinion of the Prosecutor General's Office, the drafting commission introduced clause 8 into the resolution, which did not change the existing practice. If the extortionist more than once demands the same persons to transfer to him the same property (the right to property) or to perform the same actions that bring material benefit, the crime is qualified as a single and ongoing crime. The same applies to requirements aimed at periodically transferring property to the victims to the extortionist (for example, monthly payment to him of a certain amount of money).

The amount of damage is the same as in case of theft

The resolution specifies cases when extortion is considered committed on a large and especially large scale. The previous document only stated that when calculating the amount of damage, the value of both the property stolen and the property damaged (destroyed) by the extortionist should be taken into account. The new one proposes to borrow the definition of “large” and “extra large” size from clause 4 of the note to Art. 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (theft). In the first case, the value of the property must exceed 250,000 rubles, in the second - 1 million rubles. If the value of the property is not indicated in the case file, courts are recommended to seek the assistance of experts.

If the demands were legitimate

Paragraph 13 of the resolution deserves special attention, which refers to situations where demands for the transfer of someone else's property, property rights or the commission of other actions of a property nature are lawful, but are accompanied by threats. The Supreme Court believes that this crime is not extortion and requires a different qualification. “If there are signs of another crime (for example, threats to kill, arbitrariness), the act should be qualified under the relevant article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,” the resolution says.

Difference in qualifications

The resolution describes how to qualify extortion committed in conjunction with other crimes and distinguishes it from similar offenses. Here, the Supreme Court maintained approximately the same position as in the 1990 resolution, taking into account changes in legislation.

What distinguishes extortion combined with violence from robbery (Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and robbery (Article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) is that the extortionist reinforces the threat with violent actions, and in robbery and robbery they are a means of seizing and retaining property. In the case where extortion is associated with the immediate seizure of the victim’s property, these actions can be additionally qualified as robbery or robbery in a real set of crimes.

In general, when committing extortion associated with violent acts, additional qualifications are required only in the event of death or murder of the victim; other cases are already provided for in Parts 2 and 3 of Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. When the extortionist beat the victim or hurt the victim, causing slight or moderate harm to his health, his actions are qualified under clause “c” of Part 2 of Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation without additional qualification under Art. 112 (intentional infliction of moderate harm to health), 115 (intentional infliction of minor harm to health), 116 (beatings) or 117 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (torture). If serious harm has been caused to health, clause “c” of Part 3 of Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation without additional qualifications under Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm). In the event of the death of the victim due to negligence after causing grievous harm to his health, what was done should be regarded as a set of crimes provided for in paragraph “c” of Part 3 of Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Part 4 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Extortion associated with murder is also qualified under paragraph “c” of Part 3 of Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and clause “z”, part 2 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

When the property of the victim is destroyed or damaged, causing significant damage, these acts form a set of crimes provided for in the relevant parts of Art. 163 and 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (deliberate destruction or damage to property). Dissemination during extortion of knowingly false information discrediting the honor and dignity of the victim and (or) his loved one or undermining his (their) reputation, information about the private life of a person, disclosure of the secret of adoption against the will of the adoptive parent, information constituting commercial, tax or Bank secrecy is formed by a set of crimes provided for in the relevant parts of Art. 128.1, 137, 155 or 183 and Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Accuracy of wording

In the ruling, the Supreme Court specified some of the concepts used in Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. For example, “close” people to the victim are considered not only those who are related to him, or persons whose life, health and well-being are dear to him due to existing personal relationships, but also his relatives. “Information that disgraces the victim or his relatives” is information that discredits honor, dignity or undermines reputation (for example, information about the commission of an offense or an immoral act), no matter whether it corresponds to reality or not. The Supreme Court considers “other information, the dissemination of which could cause significant harm to the rights or legitimate interests of the victim or his relatives,” any data that constitutes a secret protected by law.

Performers and accomplices

The Supreme Court also explained who should be considered a co-principal and who should be an accomplice when extortion was committed by more than one person. Thus, if the participants in the crime have agreed in advance on the distribution of roles (for example, one makes a demand, the second uses violence, and so on), then all of them bear criminal liability for extortion committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy. If an accomplice, by agreement, transfers someone else's property to the extortionist or helps in its registration, he is considered an accomplice, the actions of such a person are qualified under Art. 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, with reference to Part 5 of Art. 33 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (if the crime was not committed as part of an organized group).

The text of the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation “On judicial practice in cases of extortion (Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) can be found at the link.

• Extortion, Courts and judges
• Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, Plenum of the Supreme Court
• Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

Recommendations for victims of blackmail

Refusal to comply with the blackmailers' demands

If you agree to their terms, the extortion will continue for a long time until it exhausts the victim and causes him significant material damage. It is necessary to immediately explain to the blackmailer that his demands will not be met.

Contacting the police

After the first threat from the extortionist, you must submit a statement to the police department at the place where the crime was committed. If you refuse to accept it, you should send a complaint to the prosecutor's office.

Victims are afraid of contacting the police, but extortionists fear this even more, so in most cases they immediately stop their actions.

Contacting the organization's own security service

In cases of blackmail committed by officials, for example, bank employees or debt collectors, you can call the control structure and provide evidence.

An object

According to the criminal legal characteristics of extortion, the object of any crime is public interest, which is protected by law. But in the case of extortion, we are talking about a multi-objective crime. It includes several interests of various kinds at once, simultaneously forming a main and additional object. That is, own benefits and property interest. In criminal articles that consider the issue of extortion purely in theory, it is believed that the main object of this type of crime is property relations.

Subject of extortion

- these are actions performed by the injured party that are beneficial to the attacker. Thus, a criminal may demand to renounce the rights to inheritance, thereby allowing the criminal to subsequently become the owner of the inherited property.

Criminal law clearly defines the direct object of the crime. Extortion of funds is considered only one type of crime, the nature of which corresponds to the specifics of the article on extortion. In this situation, the attacker violates the subjective rights of a person to dispose of his property. And also commits other illegal actions that can bring material gain.

The specific object is the property of the injured party. And an additional object (also optional) is personal integrity, health, life, property rights, honor, dignity and business reputation. If extortion is combined with violent actions, or harm is caused to a healthy person, then immunity becomes an additional object. Such illegal activity significantly increases the level of public danger and implies the inclusion of such a qualifying feature as violence in the crime.

Extortion is considered a completed crime from the moment property demands are made against the victim, which were supported by a threat. Since the corpus delicti is classified as truncated, regardless of the stage of implementation of the illegal action under Article 163 of the Criminal Code, it cannot be qualified as an attempt. The actions of the offender that occur before the fact of extortion are, if there are appropriate grounds, qualified as preparation for extortion.

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Qualifying features

Particularly qualifying features

1. Organized extortion (extortion by a group of individuals)

Extortion by a group of people is another classifying feature. It implies the formation of a criminal group for these purposes with a stable hierarchy.

If it is proven that this is really a group and not a spontaneously formed flow of people, then responsibility will be borne jointly.

2. Extortion of a bribe by an official

Extortion of a bribe by an official is a crime with a special subject.

The thing is that the special subject is a civil servant, which means that for the first time in all classifications of the crime, a punishment appears in the form of a ban on holding similar positions in the future.

Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for extortion of money

This article provides for various types of crimes depending on the severity of the harm caused.

The article is divided into 3 parts:

1. The first lists the most common violations that do not cause material harm. The act is expressed verbally with threats of various types. The possible punishment for extortionists is also indicated there.
2. The second indicates crimes related to causing material damage, as well as harm to health of mild or moderate severity. This part also spells out punishments in accordance with a certain type of act.
3. The third contains violations that caused the victim serious harm to health or material damage on an especially large scale. In the third part you can learn about the penalties for committing these crimes.

Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was not edited in 2022. The penalties were not increased.

What is extortion - the essence of the criminal act

First, let's figure out what extortion is. This concept is strictly enshrined in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The crime of extortion itself has a complex composition, since the attacker encroaches not only on property and material wealth, but also on the life and health of the victim.

As a rule, an attacker who demands the transfer of certain material property, and someone else’s property, wants to take possession of it. This is precisely the essence of a criminal act.

In turn, the extortionist can commit the following actions towards the victim:

1. Verbally threaten a citizen.
2. Threaten with violence.
3. Threaten to damage property or destroy it.
4. Blackmail.

These actions may be secondary. The main action is a requirement . It is the main sign of extortion.

The requirement can be expressed in any form - rude, direct, hidden.

Remember that this is not a request!

The content of the requirement is the transfer of material goods, or any right to property or certain benefits.

The crime of extortion can be completed or unfinished . A completed violation begins with a demand - and is necessarily supported by a threat of any nature.

What to do if you extort money and threaten

Firstly, if you are extorted for money or other property, you should not panic, much less comply with the criminal’s demands. Secondly, you need to collect all available evidence and write a statement to the police. You must contact the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at your place of residence.

The application must contain the following information:

• FULL NAME. and the position of head of the department;
• information about the applicant (full name, residential address, contact information);
• details of the extortionist (if available, if not, the statement indicates that the extortionist is an unknown person);
• a detailed description of how the extortion of money or other property occurred.

You can view a sample statement to the police about extortion of money (any other property) by clicking on the link.

All available evidence must also be attached to the application. We will tell you later in the article how to prove the fact of extortion.

By phone

Telephone extortion is gradually becoming less popular, as it is being replaced by extortion on the Internet (more on that below). But this does not mean that this method of extorting money has completely “sunk into oblivion”; there are still plenty of similar cases.

What is considered such?

Telephone extortion refers to making threats using calls to a mobile or landline phone. This method is often confused with telephone fraud, when criminals, pretending to be bank employees or acquaintances of the victim, trick her into handing over a sum of money (other property).

Reference. In extortion there is no such method as deception or breach of trust. There is no element of direct threat or blackmail in fraud.

Common cases of telephone fraud:

• A supposedly close person calls and says that he is in trouble (road accident, police detention, etc.);
• a bank employee calls and says that the card has been blocked, asks for the details (bank employees actually never ask for details over the phone, which they never tire of reminding their clients of);
• the host of a TV quiz show, etc. calls, allegedly, talking about a prize won and that you need to pay a certain amount to get it.

These actions are qualified under Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation or other elements of fraud, depending on the method (Article 159.1, Article 159.2, etc.).

Using a phone

In fact, telephone extortion of money or other property should be no different from the usual, when the extortionist personally threatens the victim, while simultaneously making demands.

Telephone extortionists most often resort not to threats of violence, but to blackmail. They know something about the victim that she would prefer to hide from the public, and they demand a sum of money for non-disclosure. It can be left at a specific location or sent via email, etc.

Recommended reading:

Punishment for extortion

The difference between extortion and related compounds

Commentary from the Supreme Court ruling on extortion

Extortion of a bribe as a special criminal act

The problem of corruption in Russia remains. Criminals who extort money will be classified as those who receive a bribe. And for this act there is criminal liability regulated by Article 290 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for receiving and giving a bribe - elements of the crime and punishment for the bribe-taker and the bribe-giver

Extortion of a bribe, as a special crime, is expressed in the transfer of material values, funds or the organization of demands and threats in relation to a certain citizen, whose rights and interests are violated. In essence, the bribe giver is forced to give a bribe ; this is not his desire. This is to protect yourself from the consequences of the threats that the person who accepts the bribe promised to fulfill.

The subjects of such crimes are usually officials who have any state or official duties. These are government officials, police officers, judges, prosecutors and employees of other government agencies.

The crime of extorting a bribe is always committed with direct intent . The motive is known to everyone - self-interest.

Please note that the Civil Code of the Russian Federation allows officials to accept gifts in the form of material assets in the amount of no more than 3,000 rubles . But the laws “On Combating Corruption” and “On the State Civil Service” categorically prohibit officials from accepting any remuneration - both from individuals and from legal entities.

Qualification problems

The main problem with extortion is its difficult distinction with other crimes such as blackmail, theft, robbery and robbery.

All of these compositions are incredibly similar , but they also have a number of differences, and only a very competent and competent lawyer can distinguish them on the spot, of which there are fewer and fewer every day.

As you can see, there are enough types of extortion to say with confidence that this crime, unfortunately, is still taking place.

But it is within our power in detail the weak points in all cases and help prevent them .

How to protect yourself from this?

Extortionists, as a rule, do not stop there: having received a ransom once, you can be sure that they will want more, and they will not necessarily extort from the same person. Therefore, if you become a victim of extortion, you need to take the right actions.

1. First of all, you need to remain calm and let the extortionists know that you are ready to comply with their demands.
2. At the first opportunity, contact law enforcement agencies.
3. It is advisable to have evidence on hand: audio or video recording, a note from the criminal, or testimony of witnesses.

Qualified Species

In connection with the amendment to the Criminal Code, many types of qualified extortion were removed .

However, some species remain.

Thus, extortion committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy implies the creation of a stable group in which everyone is responsible for a certain action, which poses a great danger.

Extortion with the use of violence suggests that in the course of such a crime a citizen can receive not only moral trauma, but also injuries.

Objective side

According to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the criminal legal characteristics of extortion, the objective side of the crime (under Article 163 of the Criminal Code) is an external process that occurs in certain real conditions and causes harm to society or a specific individual. Extortion is expressed in the form of two actions. This is a threat and a demand. They are aimed at forcing the victim to perform those actions that will satisfy the demands of the attacker. From this we can conclude that a crime of this type consists of several interrelated actions.

Namely:

• the threat of causing damage or destruction of property through violence, or the dissemination of deliberately false information about the victim (this can damage the reputation, affect honor and dignity);
• presentation of claims that are of a property nature.

These actions only in mandatory connection with each other are the objective side of extortion. The essence of the property requirement is that the criminal does not carry out any actual actions with the aim of taking possession of someone else's property. On the contrary, he tries to satisfy his needs through the actions of the victim himself. This is called extortion.

In Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the objective side is positioned as an act presented in the form of coercion to perform certain actions associated with the threat of violence against the victim.

Requirements of a criminal nature, according to the criminal legal characteristics of extortion, can be carried out as follows:

• by the extortionist coming into personal contact with the victim;
• by making an anonymous demand;
• by imposing obviously unprofitable or unprofitable transactions;
• forcing the injured party to commit illegal actions.

When studying all the nuances of the article, you should not only become familiar with the types of extortion, but also understand the elements of the crime. When taking into account the composition, it is important to delve into such concepts as subject and subjective side, provided for in Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Differences between extortion and robbery, arbitrariness and robbery

When forced to commit actions aimed at taking possession of someone else's property, one should study the difference between extortion and fairly similar offenses.

Namely:

• robbery;
• arbitrariness;
• robbery.

These crimes actually have quite a lot in common. But if you look into criminal law and read each individual criminal article in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, you can easily determine the essence and characteristics of each of these crimes. Let's start with the difference between arbitrariness and extortion. Cases of arbitrariness are regulated under Article 330 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Legislation considers arbitrariness as the commission of a crime contrary to established rules, laws and procedures, which entailed causing significant harm, and the legality of actions is disputed by citizens or entire organizations.

Arbitrariness from the perspective of an administrative offense implies the same actions, but without causing significant harm. Having understood the features and types of extortion, we can say that the key difference between these two crimes is the making of demands under the threat of violent acts. This is not provided for under self-government.

Also, the legal framework allows us to distinguish between extortion, robbery and robbery. Each crime has its own characteristics, potentially large damage to the injured party and other similar aspects.

But the elements of the crime are still different, as are the objects, structure and content. Legal methods make it possible to conduct an investigation and clearly distinguish between seemingly identical offenses. Therefore, we can imagine several key distinguishing features that allow us to distinguish extortion from robbery or robbery.

1. Subject of the crime.
   In the case of robbery and robbery, the object is only someone else's property. And in case of extortion, property rights and various actions of a property nature are added to the number of objects of the crime.
2. Contents and structure.
   Robbery is theft and refers to the material elements of the crime in the case of the use of a non-dangerous type of violence or threats of violence. Taking possession of someone else's property is not a mandatory sign of robbery and extortion.
3. Extortion and robbery have a truncated corpus delicti.
   In robbery, illegal actions involve an attack combined with the use of threats or violence. In extortion, they demand to hand over property, backed by threats. In the case of extortion, an attack is possible, but it is not a requirement. During robberies, a demand is often made for the transfer of property. But if it is not there, then the robbery is still present.
4. Types of threats.
   Robbery and robbery are characterized by threats of using various types of violence. Extortion is characterized by various types of threats, including violence.
5. Time to receive property.
   During robbery and robbery, criminals strive to immediately take possession of other people's property. Extortion involves the transfer of property or property rights after some time, but not immediately.
6. Time to implement the threat of violence.
   Threats during robberies and robberies can be implemented immediately. The threat of extortion will become reality after some time, in the foreseeable future. In the case of extortion, violence may be used, but only as a means of reinforcing the main threat.
7. Subjective side.
   All of these types of crimes are considered selfish. But in robbery the goal of theft is pursued, which is impossible in the case of extortion, since according to the law it is not considered theft. And robbery is theft in fact.

Such arguments are quite enough to distinguish between these types of illegal actions and understand the basic essence of each of them. Therefore, an investigation into a crime involving the seizure of someone else’s property is necessarily carried out by identifying objects, subjects, objects and other signs of illegal actions. It is not difficult to provide evidence of robbery, robbery, arbitrariness or extortion if you understand the legal acts and characteristics of each crime.