Is a cartel a civil transaction?

This article examines the problem of the increasingly common qualification of the cartel in the statements of claim of the prosecutor as transactions subject to recognition as null and void. Since such a qualification leads to significant property penalties, its confirmation or refutation is of an important practical nature. The problem is considered through the prism of the doctrine and practice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and other courts. According to the author, the qualification of the cartel, defined by the legislator as an offense, in the transaction, is artificial in nature, and has no legal basis. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation does not provide for such a transaction as a cartel, and since the cartel is a violation of the prohibition established in the antimonopoly legislation, the rule of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on the admissibility of transactions not provided for by law does not apply to it. The author believes that the function of the prosecutor’s office should not include replenishment of the budget. The appearance of such a function may cause deviations from the rule of law.