The role of forensic expertise in the investigation of crimes related to forgery of digital documents and cryptocurrencies

With the advancement of digital technologies and the proliferation of cryptocurrency transactions, new types of crimes have emerged, including the forgery of digital documents and illicit activities involving cryptocurrencies. Thus, the role of forensic expertise has become increasingly significant, as it enables the identification of forged documents, the analysis of cryptocurrency transactions, and the detection of criminal schemes. The purpose of the study is to establish the importance of forensic expertise in investigating crimes and criminal offences related to digital document forgery and cryptocurrencies in Ukraine and globally. The paper involved a comparative analysis of existing legal provisions, which revealed problematic issues, paths, and forms for improving current legislation concerning the modernisation of legal provisions related to the forensic characteristics of documents. The study also identified factors influencing the regulation of forensic expertise in criminal proceedings and current challenges in this field. The study determines the most substantial types of expertise during the investigation of criminal offences involving forged digital documents and cryptocurrencies: forensic economic expertise (accounting and tax records; financial and economic activities; financial and credit operations), forensic (handwriting analysis, technical and forensic document examination), and computer-technical expertise. The importance of providing high-quality comparative samples for identifying individuals and devices used in document forgery is emphasised. It is noted that addressing tasks in pre-trial investigations concerning forged documents often requires complex examinations by multiple experts and the provision of a joint report. The study proposes procedural enshrinement of the status of complex, repeated, additional, and commission-based expert examinations conducted by forensic experts. The study formulates and justifies recommendations that may improve the legal regulation of forensic expertise in Ukraine.