The legislative regulation of crimes against property in the sphere of high technologies by the criminal codes of Kazakhstan and Russia

Abstract

The authors present a comparative analysis of criminal legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Russia that determines liability for crimes against property in the sphere of high technologies. The new Criminal Code of Kazakhstan, which came into force on January 1, 2015, established criminal liability for these crimes for the first time. The authors examine new approaches used to formulate the general clauses on the crime (punishment) and the legislative regulation of liability for crimes against property in the sphere of computer information. They provide a detailed analysis of liability for specific crimes against property in the sphere of high technologies in Kazakhstan and in Russia paying special attention to analyzing the modi operandi of these crimes. The comparative analysis of criminal legislation of Kazakhstan and Russia allowed the authors to conclude that the new Criminal Code of Kazakhstan views high technology crimes against property as qualified (specifically qualified) cases of three traditional crimes against property - theft, fraud, and property damage by deception or abuse of trust. The Criminal Code of Russia views these crimes as two special offences of fraud. A more complete list of modi operandi of the examined crimes can be found in Art. 159.6 of the CC of RF (the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan includes only two modi operandi). Consequently, the inclusion of different modi operandi of crimes against property in the sphere of high technologies the CC of Russia into the scope of fraud results in a limited understanding of such crimes