The article examines the methods, traces of criminal activities, and the personality of the criminal as elements of forensic characteristics and their specific features in the investigation of crimes provided for by Article 200.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The relevance of the study is due to the lack of sufficient investigative practice regarding the mentioned article. Since its inception in 2018, only 2 people have been prosecuted under this article. The object of the study is criminal activity in the field of procurement, while the subject of the research consists of elements of forensic characteristics and their analysis. The aim of the research is to examine the methods and traces of criminal activity and the personality of the criminal as primary elements of forensic characteristics in the investigation of procurement abuses, as well as to identify their specific features. The methodology of the research is based on basic principles of dialectics, general scientific and special methods, as well as a systematic approach that ensures the unity, objectivity, and conceptual integrity of the work. The novelty of the work lies in the fact that the conclusions of the study may contribute to the qualitative investigation of abuses in the field of procurement. First, the methods of committing crimes in the context of abuses are disguised as ordinary official activities of contract service employees, making them difficult to detect and resulting in high latency of such types of crimes. Second, special attention should be paid to virtual traces in the investigation of abuses, as all actions of employees are confirmed by electronic digital signature, which is provided for by legislation allowing for electronic document management and the principles of transparency and openness of the contracting system. Third, the analysis of the personality of criminals prosecuted for abuses allows for a largely positive characterization of these individuals. The results align with studies by other authors.
Mariya Petrovna Adamova (Thu,) studied this question.