A New Approach to Criminalizing Droppers: Problems and Prospects

Introduction. In the era of digital transformation of a large number of public relations and an increase in the share of non-cash payments, criminals were forced to resort to the latest mechanisms for involving other citizens in their criminal activities. One of these methods has become droppery, when citizens provide their bank accounts for replenishment, withdrawal of cash or cashless movement for a monetary reward. Droppery is a new phenomenon in domestic crime, through which citizens participate in the illicit trafficking of non-cash funds, the origin of which is associated with the preparation or commission of a crime, concealment of traces of its commission, complication of the chain of movement of funds of criminal origin. In this regard, it is proved that the crimes of droppers are an integral part of a largerscale criminal activity, but at the same time they are an independent criminal law phenomenon, the study of which at the doctrinal level is just beginning.

For the first time, the article examines the features of the new types of crimes provided for in Parts 3-5 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), which established responsibility for droppers, emphasizes their criminal law qualifications, and makes a comparative legal analysis with other related crimes.

Materials and methods. The materials and methods are presented by referring to the modern doctrine of criminal law, criminology and the practice of applying criminal law in law enforcement, as well as the integrated use of such general scientific methods as dialectics, logic, comparison, induction, deduction, generalization, division and the following private scientific methods of cognition: comparative law, formal logic, system-structural, content analysis.

Research results. The analysis made it possible to consider theoretical and legal approaches to the interpretation of dropper crimes, clarify the concept of droppery in modern criminal law, study the current legislative position on bringing droppers to criminal responsibility and criminalizing their actions, identify and characterize the key objective and subjective signs of dropper crimes, focus on the increasing criminogenic potential of these crimes, acting as an integral part of other larger-scale criminal activities of third parties.

Discussion and conclusion. Dropper crimes are a new type of socially dangerous acts prohibited by criminal law in Parts 3-5 of Article 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, committed in various ways using electronic means of payment, including: transfer of access to them to other persons; independent illegal transactions with them; their acquisition or transfer to another person and (or) granting access to them by other persons.

The principal conditions for the onset of criminal liability of droppers are contained in the subjective side of the offences provided for in parts 3-5 of art. 187 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Firstly, the intent of the dropper should include the understanding that all transactions with funds carried out by him are illegal, or such illegal transactions are carried out by a third party who has involved the dropper in this activity. Secondly, there must be a selfish interest in the motivation of the dropper's actions, suggesting the material interest of the dropper in receiving some kind of reward for his assistance in the flow of funds through his personal accounts. The lack of evidence of these signs implies in practice the impossibility of bringing the dropper to criminal responsibility.

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