Illegal trade in criminal law

Trade, as a form of commodity-money relations, has a long history. It begins with the first forms of exchange of goods for money and other valuables. Given that the purpose of trade is the acquisition of profit based on the sale and purchase of goods and services, this activity undoubtedly enabled the commercial class of society to accumulate significant wealth. This is why merchants are considered to be among the wealthiest people in the society, from the beginning of the first states, up to the present day. However, trading often represents an ‘ideal’ way of acquiring illegal gains, which can rapidly increase if it is carried out over a long period of time. The suppression of various forms of illegal trade is carried out at the legal and institutional level. Hence, regulations in this field can be classified into basic ones (governing trading activities), criminal ones (specifying particular criminal offenses), and misdemeanor ones (prescribing penalties for legal entities and individuals). The legal peculiarity in regulating trade, including its legal forms, lies in the extensive catalog of different procedures. In the field of criminal law, there is an independent criminal offense of the same name with multiple forms. In our country, judicial practice is full of various cases in which the criminal ingenuity of the actors of illegal trade is especially manifested. The inspection authorities are the society’s first line of defense against various forms of illicit trade. In the process of carrying out regular and extraordinary supervision, they observe and initiate investigation into the responsibility for offenses in the domain of illegal trade. In the field of criminal law, there is an independent criminal offense of the same name, which has several forms. Consequently, this paper gives an overview of the legal mechanisms for suppressing illegal trade in our country.