A lawyer in a bribery case – a lawyer under Art. 368 of the Criminal Code. Acceptance of an offer, promise or receipt of an improper benefit by an official

Ukraine has been actively fighting bribery and other corruption schemes for more than a decade. In our society, some stereotypes related to the attitude to corruption are getting stronger. The most common offense in this area is the acceptance of an offer, promise or receipt of an illegal benefit by an official. We are talking about Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. If you need the help of a specialist under this article, lawyers Prykhodko and Partners will be able to protect your interests.

Bribery: the legal basis of the issue

As stated above, criminal liability under Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is established for the following offense — acceptance of an offer/promise or direct receipt of an illegal benefit by an official.

Only an official is punished under this article. Let's return to the issue of undue advantage. Unlawful benefit is an illegal reward of a material nature. These can be various actions that have a property nature:

1. Transfer of property benefits or their refusal.
2. Free provision of services that have a pronounced property nature. Among them are the provision of tourist and sanitary permits, repair or construction works, etc.
3. Provision of property or rights to it. These can be, in particular, material values, money, documents that allow the use of property.

Improper benefits cannot be benefits, services and advantages that do not have material content. These actions can be interpreted as a disinterested interest of an official.

Liability provided for in Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine

Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine stipulates the following responsibility:

• Monetary penalty.
• Imprisonment for up to 4 years.
• Deprivation of the right to occupy the former position for a period of 3 years.

If we are talking about the provision of intermediary services, bribery in the presence of aggravating circumstances, the term of imprisonment can be up to 10 years. At the same time, the property of the suspect is confiscated. Illegal benefit in particularly large amounts is punishable by imprisonment of an official for a term of up to 12 years.

Among the aggravating circumstances:

1. Conspiracy of a group of persons.
2. The high post of a briber.
3. Demanding a bribe.
4. Repeated bribery.

Assistance of professional lawyers under Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine

Lawyers Prykhodko and Partners must be involved in a criminal case from the very beginning of procedural actions. In the best case, this should happen at the stage of transferring the bribe. We will make all necessary efforts to justify or significantly mitigate the court's sentence.

If a lawyer is involved in a timely manner, there are more chances to protest the actions of representatives of law enforcement agencies and choose a more optimal preventive measure. For example, you can beat the situation as follows: provide evidence of incitement to commit criminal acts, i.e. provocation of bribery. In court, it is possible to obtain bail instead of placing the suspect in a pretrial detention center.

Thus, the services of a lawyer at the stage of pre-trial investigation are the best protection of the client's interests against the commission of illegal actions by investigative bodies. Lawyers Prykhodko and Partners will ensure that the representatives of investigative bodies do not deliberately delay the course of the investigation and do not overload it with insignificant and sometimes completely meaningless examinations. Our lawyers can become active participants in investigative actions. Among other things, they develop the most correct and balanced strategy of behavior during interrogation.

Do you still have questions? We are waiting for a preliminary consultation! To calculate the cost of a lawyer's services in a bribery case, fill out the form below.