How to prove extortion of money, criminal liability for extortion

Today, in a society where corruption has become commonplace, it is difficult to resolve issues in a legal way. Increasingly, employees are demanding kickbacks for services and greed knows no bounds. Many people who have experienced unfair treatment think about how to prove extortion and punish an irresponsible employee.

You can come to terms with this circumstance or become one of those who seek to enrich themselves at someone else’s expense without effort, by demanding money for their loyalty, non-disclosure of compromising information, or proper performance of duties.

The key detail that directly affects bringing the criminal to justice is the actions with which one can prove the extortion of money, so that the obtained evidence will be accepted and considered in court proceedings.

Extortion in its purest form

Extortion in the form of a criminal act is characterized by the following actions:

1) Setting conditions for the alienation of property, demanding re-registration of property or carrying out other actions that lead to unlawful enrichment at someone else’s expense;

2) The use of threats as a motive to transfer funds;

3) Possessing the ability to cause harm to a person’s physical or material condition, his reputation, or relationships;

4) Impact of a physical nature, damage to property or disclosure of information, with the aim of translating the threat into reality and causing harm;

5) Threats to human life and health.

The most common example is resources that allow one to use physical force on a person, causing the other party to fear and fear for their life. The terminology contains the word “racketeering”, which fully reflects an aggressive way of influencing the injured party in order to “knock” money out of him. Attackers often use sadistic methods, leading to beatings and torture.

There is no need to confuse and combine concepts. Until the moment when threats to human life and health begin to be carried out, this is only extortion. In another case, such an act falls into the category of assault of varying degrees of severity.

Responsibility before the law

According to Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, extortion of money entails consequences in the form of various punishments for the attacker. Among them, the most severe is imprisonment for up to 4 years with a fine of up to 80 thousand rubles. or six months' earnings. Restriction of freedom for up to 4 years, forced labor for the same period with restriction of freedom for up to 24 months, and arrest for six months can also be applied.

According to the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, extortion of money, which is accompanied by aggravating circumstances, will be punished more severely. Penalties are toughened if this crime is committed:

by a group by prior conspiracy;
with the use of violence;
in large quantities.

Punishment for such cases of extortion of money can be imprisonment for up to 7 years with a penalty of up to 500 thousand rubles. or earnings for 3 years, as well as restriction of freedom for 24 months.

Under this article, extortion of money entails more severe penalties if it is committed:

organized group;
causing significant harm to health;
with the intention of obtaining a particularly large sum.

Such criminals can be sentenced to 7-15 years in prison. By decision of the court, in addition to this punishment, a fine of 1,000,000 rubles may be imposed. or in the amount of earnings for 5 years, as well as restriction of freedom for up to 24 months.

Fear of losing property

Fear of losing expensive property: a vehicle or real estate that could be damaged, including by fire or explosives, often becomes the reason for complying with extortionists’ demands. Even insurance will not protect against this kind of trouble, because according to the terms of the contract, if the insured event occurs earlier than the period specified in the policy, no payment of funds is made.

Disclosure of Information

Any person has certain periods in his life that he wants to forget, since they lower his authority in the eyes of colleagues and relatives. This could be an affair or drug use. The weapon of extortionists can be not only specific actions, but also carelessly thrown words, which can lead to discord in relations with a loved one.

What to do if you extort money and threaten

If you are suddenly extorted for money or other property, it is important to prove the crime. First, refuse the offer. Perhaps the criminal realizes the risks and abandons his plans. If pressure increases, you must pretend that you agree to pay, and be prepared to collect evidence.

Extortion by police officers or other persons can be confirmed by the following facts:

video recording
recording a conversation on a voice recorder
photographing the intruder
bringing in a witness, etc.

A reliable way is to find people who have also suffered from the scammer’s actions. The more victims can be found, the higher the chances of successfully solving the case. When recording a conversation, it is necessary in the process of communication to mention the date, indicate the amount, stipulate the conditions and other features of the “transaction”. It should be clear from the sound file that we are talking about extortion. After collecting evidence, you can go to the police.

extortion of money by government officials

Many issues that are resolved in government agencies, as well as activities for selecting a winner at a tender, are often carried out not in accordance with established administrative regulations and laws, but through personal agreement.

Each employee of a government agency can carry out his direct duties in full compliance with the deadlines for reviewing applications and raising a bunch of claims in the preparation of documentation, or carry out all the activities, turning a blind eye to the shortcomings, correcting them independently. Both scenarios do not violate legal norms, but the latter is only possible when motivating an employee using:

- direct motivation, when the bribe is transferred to him personally or with the help of a third party;

- indirect motivation when the interest of management arises, which gives orders to its employees without contradictions.

Officials can make hints about the need for motivation, inaction or, on the contrary, resistance with the help of third parties who will communicate all the conditions under which the services will be performed. The list of special cases includes career advancement, when a bribe helps build a career or removes the consequences of violations at work. Although there are no open threats characteristic of extortion, in these options there is the fact of extortion, which is called a “bribe” from a legal point of view.

○Extortion of officials or employees: teachers, doctors, etc.

In cases where extortion is not associated with a threat to life and health, the amounts extorted are not large, and you do not want to spend a lot of your time communicating with the police and initiating a case, but want to punish the extortionist, you can look for alternative (but not always effective) ways to fight with an illegal act.

✔ How to fight?

If officials or employees without remuneration (teachers, doctors, employees of organizations) refuse to perform their duties, contact their immediate management or a higher organization orally or with a statement in free form, in which you set out all the circumstances.

What actions should you take in case of extortion?

Many people who are faced with a similar situation begin to wonder how to prove the fact of extortion. The evidence base is collected as follows:

1) Record threats on a voice recorder; if you become a victim of extortion, regardless of its form, you do not need to immediately proceed to fulfilling the attacker’s demands;

2) Agree to the conditions, ask for time to find funds or carry out other actions required of you;

3) After setting a deadline, when you have collected the required amount, the property and rights to it are required to be transferred to the criminal, contact the law enforcement authorities, write a statement about extortion of money.

Police officers know very well how to prove extortion of money.

For a reasoned accusation in a court hearing, you need evidence, the list of which includes:

1) Audio recordings of conversations with the extortionist, conversations on the phone or in person. To obtain this evidence, the police will provide you with a microphone, putting your phone under wiretapping;

2) Video material that shows the fact of the transfer of funds or other valuables required by the extortionist (the video is recorded using a portable video camera);

3) A protocol that describes the banknotes seized from the extortionist; the bills must first be marked in a special way.

Only if you follow these rules and report extortion of money and other valuables, will you be charged with extortion. It is worth noting that video or audio recordings of the attacker’s demands must be provided at the trial. To obtain them, you will need to bring the criminal to a frank conversation.

You can achieve this using:

1) False refusal to comply with demands during a planned meeting with provocations: “Remind me, for what services am I obliged to pay you so much money?” or “What will you do to me?”;

2) Delay the payment date or ask for postponement of meetings under any pretext, so that, due to impatience, the criminal begins to make threats during telephone conversations or during meetings;

3) By partially fulfilling the requirements in order to provoke the criminal into negativity. In this case, he will make threats, listing what he will do to you if you do not comply with his conditions in full.

Countermeasures against criminals

First, you need to decide what kind of money extortionists are pursuing a person:

If a school or kindergarten requires funds, the director of the institution or the prosecutor’s office should help. It would be a good idea to write an application to the Department of Education.
It is better to block calls from collectors using blacklists. Also, a complaint to the bank on whose behalf the calls are made or a complaint addressed to the Central Bank will help.
Ordinary criminals should be afraid of being chased by the police. This means you need to write statements.

A citizen can only cope with debt collectors on his own if he has a sufficiently stable psyche. In other cases, it is better to immediately contact the police for protection.

How not to behave during extortion

If you have become a victim of ransomware, you do not need to resolve this issue on your own, because:

1) You can break the line of what is permitted and stand on the level of a criminal, because by using threats or illegal actions, you automatically become a criminal, not a victim;

2) The extortionist will get scared or, on the contrary, will carry out his threats, and you will suffer damage to your health, property or reputation.

3) If you record conversations with a criminal yourself, they will not be accepted for consideration in court, because the evidence base is collected with the help of law enforcement agencies.

They extort money for photos or videos

The theft of personal data, photo archives and home videos have become the most profitable niche for extortionists. If criminals threaten to make public data from a personal archive or some other photo and video materials, you should adhere to the following action plan:

Agree with the demands of the extortionists and play for time to collect evidence against them.
Take screenshots of correspondence, record audio messages, record all incoming correspondence, take photos and videos of meetings with criminals.
With evidence, contact law enforcement agencies to file a complaint against the attackers.

Practice shows that this approach helps to get out of a difficult situation with minimal losses.

Traffic police officers extort money

Driving a car is a big responsibility and carries the risk of getting into an accident . Human factor can be the cause of a wide variety of driver offenses:

intersection of continuous markings;
driving while intoxicated;
speed limit violation;
ignoring the rights of a pedestrian at a pedestrian crossing and much more.

The presence of various violations may become a pretext for an offer not to draw up a protocol in exchange for a monetary reward. In such cases, an effective way would be to turn on a voice recorder or make a video recording.

Andrey Andreevich Criminal lawyer. Work experience of more than 10 years Road users must not forget that giving a bribe to an official, as well as extorting it, is a criminal offense.

Where to contact

When submitting an application, you must have a passport or other document confirming your identity. To resolve your issue, you need to contact any police officer or the duty station. The latter option is faster, since here the application will be immediately registered, and the victim will be given a contract number.

To the police

By law, a person can make a statement to any employee: an operative or investigator, a sergeant or general. He, in turn, does not have the right to refuse, no matter in what form the application is submitted - written or oral.

Expert opinion Mikhailov Igor Konstantinovich Consultant in the field of law with 10 years of experience. Specializes in the field of civil law. Has experience in document examination.

After the application is accepted, within three working days the victim must be notified of the decision to initiate a criminal case or refusal for any reason.

To the prosecutor's office

Most often the complaint is referred to the police. Even if it is submitted to the prosecutor's office, it will still be redirected to the nearest department. But there are situations when the prosecutor’s office independently examines crimes and sends documents to the courts.

It is recommended to contact these authorities in the following cases:

The initial appeal to the police department was unsuccessful. If the application was refused to be accepted or a criminal case was initiated due to lack of evidence, in the opinion of the investigator. You can also write a complaint about inaction.
The extortionist holds a government or other management position. Only the prosecutor's office deals with crimes involving this category of persons.