Gaps in forest legislation and their impact on the criminalization of the forest industry

Introduction: the work examines some of the problematic issues of the organizational and legal support of the forest industry and the impact of these problems on the methods of committing crimes. It is indicated that the gaps in the organization of activities and the regulatory framework contribute to the corruption of the industry. Materials and Methods: the methodological basis of the study is the general dialectical method of cognition. Logical, system-oriented, structural-functional methods, as well as methods of analysis, description of generalization are used. The empirical basis of the study is the materials of 23 criminal cases initiated on the facts of crimes under Art. 260, 226.1. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Results of the Study: based on the analysis of regulatory sources, criminal case materials, arguments are formulated that justify the shortcomings of the organizational and legal support of the forest industry that directly contribute to the integration of illegal operations in the activities of legitimate companies involved in the forest industry, and the improvement of methods of committing crimes. Findings and Conclusions: to solve the problem, a set of organizational and legal measures is required aimed at changing the structure of federal bodies in the forest industry, redistributing powers in the field of forest relations, filling in the existing gaps in forest legislation, increasing the efficiency of information and analytical support for the exchange, collection and storage of legal, operational and other relevant information on the manifestations of crime in the field of timber trafficking (CITES facilities).