Modernization of criminal law measures to counter the fishing of professional purchasers of criminally acquired property in Russia: from history to the present

Relevance. Since the formation of a closed community of professional criminals in pre-revolutionary Russia, the “market” of criminal “services” began to actively develop in the criminal environment, among which a special place was occupied by “services” for the resale (purchase and sale) of property obtained by criminal means. This type of criminal fishing has retained its importance in the structure of professional crime to the present time, which determines the relevance of the study of the evolution of legal measures to counteract the fishing of these persons in historical retrospect to determine effective ways to combat such socially dangerous activities in modern realities. The purpose of the study is to determine the criminal legal basis for countering the fishing of domestic professional buyers of criminally obtained property in historical retrospect and formulate proposals for the modernization of modern legal measures to counteract the fishing of these persons. Objectives: to analyze the formation and development of the legal foundations for countering the fishing of professional buyers of criminally obtained property at different stages of the evolution of the Russian state; to identify modern criminal legal measures to combat the fishing of professional buyers of criminally obtained property in Russia; to assess the possibility of modernizing the current criminal legislation in order to counter the activities of professional buyers of property, obtained by criminal means. Methodology. The following methods of scientific cognition were used in the study: historical-legal, comparative-legal, method of analysis, synthesis, generalization and systematization. The results of the study. It is determined that the origin and development of the trade of professional buyers of property obtained by criminal means in pre-revolutionary and Soviet Russia was reflected in the criminal legislation in force during this period. Even in the Code of Criminal and Correctional Punishments of 1845, increased responsibility for the acquisition and sale of stolen property in the form of fishing was recorded. In the future, there was a modernization of criminal law measures to counteract this criminal trade with tougher penalties. Conclusion. Today, there is an objective need to toughen the punishment for engaging in the criminal trade in question on a professional basis. To this end, it is proposed to supplement Article 175 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with an appropriate qualifying feature.