THE INITIAL STAGE OF THE INVESTIGATION OF ILLEGAL ENRICHMENT
Authors:   Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, Svanadze L.P. 
Published: March 2024

Illegal enrichment is one of the most dangerous criminal offenses of corruption and represents a direct threat to the national security of Ukraine. The high latency of illegal enrichment as a social phenomenon calls into question the effectiveness of the existing system of means of combating corruption. This prompts all state institutions to respond in order to develop an effective technology for detecting, investigating and preventing illegal enrichment. The scientific toolkit of such a technology should become a proven method of investigating illegal enrichment, the main elements of which are at the stage of formation and verification by investigative practice. The purpose of the article is to propose a foundation for the development of the technology of investigation of illegal enrichment in modern conditions by conducting a review of the features of opening criminal proceedings in the presence of facts indicating the possibility of illegal enrichment, analysis of typical investigative situations and circumstances to be established, as well as determination of priority procedural actions and organizational measures at the initial stage of the investigation of illegal enrichment. The main results of the study demonstrate the peculiarities of the opening of criminal proceedings in the investigation of illegal enrichment, which include: the mandatory conclusion of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption based on the results of the verification of the person’s declaration, as well as the opening of proceedings not against the person, but on the fact of possible illegal enrichment. The identified features determine the typicality of the investigative situation of the initial stage of the investigation of illegal enrichment and allow us to formulate two typical investigative versions of the event under investigation, such as: illegal enrichment took place and illegal enrichment did not take place. The effectiveness of the investigation of illegal enrichment, as a crime of corruption, directly depends on the effectiveness of the initial stage of the investigation of this criminal offense. In turn, the initial stage of the investigation of illegal enrichment is characterized by the typicality and relative information certainty of the investigative situation, which, at the same time, is not favorable for the investigation. Active counteraction, which is resorted to by a person authorized to perform the functions of the state or local self-government, at all stages of the commission of illegal enrichment, significantly complicates the investigation. The main search and cognitive activity of the subject of the investigation during the implementation of a complex of organizational measures and procedural actions at the initial stage of the investigation of illegal enrichment is aimed at gathering evidence that would indicate the nature of the source of origin of the acquired assets (legal or illegal). Further evaluation of the collected evidence allows the subject of the investigation to either notify the relevant person on suspicion of illegal enrichment, or to make a decision to close the criminal proceedings.