Illegal circulation of electronic payment instruments and payment documents that are not securities: criminal law characteristics

This article presents a study of the criminal law characteristics of illegal electronic payment instruments and payment documents that are not securities. The relevance of this research topic is due to the fact that Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which deals with the illegal circulation of electronic payment instruments and payment documents that are not securities, has inadvertently undergone significant amendments over the past ten years (in 2015 and 2025). The rapid development of high technology in the banking sector in the late 1920s led not only to the emergence of new payment instruments (in particular, payment stickers) and payment methods (in particular, payment apps), but also to the formation of a «gray» market for electronic payment instruments. To effectively combat this, legislators are frequently forced to reform Article 187 of the Criminal Code. The following methods were used as the methodological basis for the study: analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, comparison, generalization, and the formal-legal method. The author of the article identified the following shortcomings of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: 1) excessive broadness and casuistry of the wording «counterfeit payment cards, orders for the transfer of funds, documents, or means of payment (except for cases provided for in Article 186 of this Code)»; 2) failure to indicate the deliberate (conscious) counterfeiting of payment cards, orders for the transfer of funds, documents, or means of payment; 3) the absence of a clear distinguishing feature between the elements of the crimes described in Part 1 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Parts 3 and Part 5 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. To address these shortcomings, the article provides recommendations for improving Part 1 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the title of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.