CRIMINAL LEGAL QUALIFICATION OF OFFENSES COMMITTED BY AN AUDITOR AS A SPECIAL SUBJECT OF A CRIMINAL OFFENSE

Abstract

The article examines the specifics of the criminal-legal qualification of offenses committed by an auditor as a special subject of a criminal offence. The classification of a criminal offense is important, as it is used to accurately characterize the committed act. The difference between the activities of an auditor, a state auditor and an environmental auditor is only in the scope of powers and forms of payment for their actions, but the legal consequences of their actions are the same. The Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for the responsibility of the auditor for the intentional violation of the requirements of the anti-legalization legislation (Article 209-1), for the intentional disclosure of professional secrets in the capital markets or organized commodity markets (Article 232), for the illegal use of insider information (Article 232-1), for drawing up or issuance of official documents (Article 358) and for violating the requirements of anti-corruption legislation (Article 365-2, Article 368-4), however, in Ukraine criminal liability is almost never applied to the auditor. In addition, the auditor can perform organizational and managerial or administrative and economic functions. In this regard, the head of the audit firm performs organizational and administrative (regarding the firm’s employees) and administrative and economic (regarding the firm’s property) functions and, in this part, is an official of a legal entity under private law – the subject of criminal offenses provided for by articles 364-1, 366, 367, 368-3, 370 of the Criminal Code. If the powers of the auditor at the time of the commission of the criminal offense have not yet arisen or have already been terminated, then the relevant actions cannot be qualified under Art. 365-2 or Art. 368-4 of the Criminal Code.