Forms and methods of legalization (laundering) of property obtained by crime, determining the objective side of the criminal offense provided for in Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine

The objective side of a criminal offense is the most important element of the composition of the crime, by which, in the vast majority, one crime differs from another. The Criminal Code of Ukraine contains Art. 209 «Legalization (laundering) of property obtained through criminal means.» In the disposition of this article of the Special Part of the Criminal Code, the legislator described, first of all, the signs of the objective side of the criminal offense. And since the content of the signs of this element is often a criterion for distinguishing adjacent elements of criminal offenses, the clarification of the constituent elements of the objective side of the composition of the crime provided for in Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, will provide an opportunity to provide an accurate legal assessment of a socially dangerous act, provided for in Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Money legalization or «laundering» is the act of channeling funds obtained from illegal/criminal activities through the financial system in such a way as to give the impression that the funds were obtained from legitimate sources. In Part 1 of Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine initially established four forms of the objective party, namely: 1) acquisition of property, in respect of which the actual circumstances testify to its acquisition by criminal means; 2) possession of such property; 3) use of such property; 4) disposal of such property. Next, the legislator provided an open list of ways by which the first four forms of the objective side of criminal legalization can be committed. These methods are: 1) carrying out a financial transaction with property, regarding which the actual circumstances indicate that it was obtained by criminal means; 2) execution of a transaction with such property. The following forms of the objective side of criminal legalization are defined: 5) transfer of property, regarding which the actual circumstances testify to its acquisition by criminal means; 6) change of form (transformation) of such property; 7) committing actions aimed at concealing or disguising: a) the origin of the property, in relation to which the factual circumstances testify to its obtaining by criminal means, b) its possession, c) the right to such property, d) the source of its origin, e) the location.