[] Problems with anti-bribery legislation
Russian criminal legislation contributes to corruption as it envisages penalties not only for bribery to commit illegal acts but for bribery as an act in general.
Article 291 of the says:
Bribe-giving.
Bribe-giving to a functionary, in person or through a mediator, shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of 200 to 500 minimum wages, or in the amount of the wage or salary, or any other income of the convicted person for a period of two to five months, or by corrective labour for a term of one to six months, or by arrest for a term of three up to six months, or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to three years.
Bribe-giving to a functionary for the commission of known illegal actions (inactions), or repeatedly, shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of 700 to 1,000 minimum wages, or in the amount of the wage or salary, or any other income of the convicted person for a period of seven to twelve months, or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to eight years.
Note: A person who has given a bribe shall be released from criminal responsibility if the bribe has been extorted by a functionary or if the person has informed of his own free will the body possessing the right to institute criminal proceedings about the fact of the bribe-giving.
Thus, the Criminal Code envisages punishment for bribery even in cases when bribes do not lead to illegal acts commitment. This encourages civil servants to take bribes for carrying out their straight duties, as they can't be held liable for committing illegal acts and at the same time they are protected from bribe-givers' denouncement by the existing law.
Release from criminal responsibility for bribery can happen only when the fact of blackmailing by a civil servant is proven. Therefore, the legislation insures civil servants from being denounced.
Formal release noted in the article 291 is there to appease public opinion and hide the corruption character of point 1 article 291 as in the existing practice the release is not automatic.
Taking into account that high rank civil servants have influence over law enforcement bodies, the existing legislation makes it impossible to hold liable for bribery. Moreover, the commentary to the article says: “Relief of bribe-givers from criminal responsibility based on the fact that they were blackmailed and involved into bribery or that they voluntarily confessed bribe-giving does not imply absence of elements of crime. Therefore, they cannot be considered victims and have no right to reclaim the values that were given in the form of bribe”. Thus a man forced to become a bribe-giver is considered a criminal and cannot be acknowledged a victim.
This is confirmed by statistics. Based on the data of , more than 3.5 thousand people were incriminated with bribe-giving in 2009 while only 2 thousand people with taking bribes.
Cancellation of legal responsibility for bribe-giving is necessary to provide public control over civil servants. Blackmailing and forcing towards illegal acts should be considered a crime but not the actual fact of bribe-giving as it is almost impossible to prosecute the bribe-taker unless there is a will of law enforcement bodies to do so.