1 General Criminal Law Enforcement
1.1 What authorities can prosecute business crimes, and
are there different enforcement authorities at the national and
regional levels?
Only state prosecutors and victims (albeit to a very limited
extent) can act as prosecutors before the Russian courts. However,
the preliminary investigations can be conducted by a variety of
state bodies, depending primarily on the subject matter of the
alleged offence.
The competent authority for a preliminary investigation of a
given crime shall be identified in accordance with article 151 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation
(hereinafter – the 'RF CPC'). The powers to
investigate crimes are primarily vested in the Investigative
Committee of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Interior of
the Russian Federation, although certain types of crimes can be
investigated by other, more specialised agencies such as, inter
alia, the Federal Security Service of the
