The Role of Well-Versed Persons in Identifying Signs of and Documenting Economic Criminal Offences
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32353/khrife.3.2025.08Keywords:
specific expertise; specialist; economic criminal offenses; documentation of crime signs; inspection; audit; proving.Abstract
The primary concerns of this paper are clarify the role, place and functions of well-versed persons in identifying and documenting (procedurally documenting) signs of economic criminal offences. General scientific and special legal methods, including dialectical, system-structural, functional, legal-dogmatic and interpretative provided the methodological foundation for the research. These methods enabled us to provide a comprehensive overview of the legal regulation and practical importance of using specific expertise in criminal proceedings. The findings suggest that effectively and objectively investigating the above offences requires expertise that falls outside the scope of traditional legal expertise. The complexity of business transactions, multi-level financial processes and their similarity with legal activities necessitate the involvement of economists, auditors, accountants and IT specialists. The importance of specialists’ participation in various procedural and non-procedural forms of activity is revealed: from consulting (advising) and preliminary research to participation in searches, inspections, interrogations and temporary access to documents. The author highlights their role in detecting hidden tax evasion schemes, unlawful VAT refunds, fictitious bankruptcy and other methods of asset misappropriation. Emphasis is made on the analysis of audit and inspection materials as sources of evidence. The controversial issue concerning the legal status of auditors and inspectors in criminal proceedings is stressed. It is generalized that detection of signs of economic criminal offences is a complex stage in the forensic investigation methodology, requiring the integration of specific expertise and investigative (search) actions. It is stated that the participation of a specialist provides a sufficient evidentiary basis, minimizes the risk of information loss and increases the efficiency of criminal proceedings.
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