Legal assistance in criminal proceedings under Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine

Prikhodko & Partners Law Office provides legal assistance in criminal proceedings to accept an offer, promise or obtain an improper benefit by an official.

Criminal liability in this case is provided by Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It occurs for the following actions: acceptance of an offer, promise or receipt of an illegal benefit by an official, as well as a request to provide such benefit to himself or a third party for an act or omission by such an official in the interests of the person offering, promising or providing an illegal benefit; or in the interests of a third party of any action using the authority or official position vested in it.

The legislator provided for a penalty for such actions from a fine of one thousand five hundred non-taxable minimum incomes to twelve years in prison. As you can see, the difference between the minimum and maximum punishment is striking. It all depends on the specific circumstances of the case. Therefore, the work of a lawyer in such criminal proceedings should be as thorough as possible.

The peculiarity of criminal proceedings related to illicit gain is that at the initial stage of their investigation the pre-trial investigation bodies and the prosecutor's office resort to "hyperqualification" of the suspect's actions. That is, qualifications under the more "severe" part of Article 368 of the Criminal Code. For example, a suspect is charged with extortion when he was absent. This is done in order, firstly, to report "upstairs" on the detention of a serious bribe-taker, and secondly, to be able to apply to the court to choose the most severe measure of restraint - detention. Then it is easier to put pressure on the person and try to set their own conditions for admitting guilt. Therefore, an invitation to participate in the case of a qualified defense counsel at the initial stage is extremely important.

Also an important factor in the successful defense in such criminal proceedings is the work of a lawyer with the materials of covert investigative (investigative) actions (eavesdropping on telephone conversations, covert audio and video recording, etc.). From checking the legality of their conduct to clarify the integrity and originality of the records, analysis of the meaning of recorded conversations and a number of other issues.