The subject of the research is the theoretical and practical problems of developing a methodology for investigating official crimes (Chapter 30 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The patterns of criminal activity of officials under the conditions of digitalization and the increase in registered crimes since 2021 are analyzed. The structure and dynamics of official crime from 2010 to 2024 are examined, revealing correlational links between abuse of power, bribery, and forgery (in 65% of cases). The personality of a typical offender is characterized: a head of a municipal authority, a man aged 40–50 years (28.7% have a legal education). The foreign experience of investigating corruption is considered (on the example of the USA and the UK). The scientific significance is determined by the need to update specific forensic methodologies. The practical significance lies in recommendations to improve the effectiveness of investigative activities in a digital environment. The methodological foundation comprises a set of general scientific and specific scientific methods of cognition: formal-legal, comparative-legal, statistical, and sociological. The empirical base consists of data from the Main Information and Analytical Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia and the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation for 2010–2024, materials from 200 criminal cases, and 120 court decisions. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the development of conceptual foundations for an integrative methodology for investigating official crimes, taking into account their systemic nature and the fact that in 65% of cases they are committed in conjunction with other offenses (service forgery, bribery, theft). Unlike existing specialized approaches, the need for a transition to a comprehensive analysis of interrelated criminal acts within a single legal proceeding is substantiated. For the first time, based on a representative empirical base (200 criminal cases), the typical profile of an official offender is updated: a man aged 40–50 years, head of a municipal authority, in 28.7% of cases possessing higher legal education, which determines a high degree of procedural resistance and requires special tactical preparation from the investigator. A stable trend of growth in registered official crimes since 2021 has been identified (from 30.6 thousand to 35.6 thousand in 2024), with a further increase in their number projected to reach 41.5 thousand by 2027.
Anatolii Sergeevich Usenko (Sun,) studied this question.