ADMINISTRATIVE LIABILITY OF LEGAL ENTITIES FOR CORRUPTION OFFENCES

The rules of the Administrative Offences Code of the Russian Federation (Administrative Offences Code) on responsibility for unlawful remuneration on behalf of a legal entity envisage the possibility of additional administrative-legal coercion over a legal entity, in addition to the criminal legal pressure on a functionary. But administrative proceedings, envisaged by article 19.28 of the Administrative Offences Code in respect to legal entities should not be connected with criminal proceedings against functionaries. The legal entity, implementing anti-corruption policy, can take necessary actions, aimed at detection and suppression of corruptive manifestations. The Court should assess the specified circumstances as mitigating the administrative responsibility of a legal entity. Nevertheless, legislation does not contain Special instructions for law enforcement in this part. Thus, the absence in the Administrative Offences Code of the rule allowing exemption from responsibility for a legal entity, which willingly reports a corruption act and facilitates its disclosure and investigation, does not encourage active participation of legal entities’ management bodies in brining guilty functionaries to criminal responsibility. The article provides an analysis and synthesis of the Russian and foreign law, as well as case studies, proposals for amending the Administrative Offences Code in regard to the possible release of a legal entity from administrative responsibility.