A figurehead as a constructive sign of corpus delicti: legal meaning of the concept

Introduction: the article analyzes the issues of legal assessment of the category of a figurehead when qualifying crimes associated with the creation of one-day firms. In particular, the study examines aspects related to the legal analysis of a figurehead as a subjective or objective sign. The author considers the rules of qualification arising from the principle of subjective imputation. Materials and Methods: the research was based on the dialectical method of cognizing objective reality. The author used general research methods (analysis and deduction) that are relevant for interpreting other norms. The norms of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provided the empirical basis for this study as well as social research findings conducted by the author. Results: on the basis of the findings and the formulated theses, the criminal essence of the category of a figurehead was determined, as well as its significance for the qualification of a crime. The author formulated proposal for changing the definition contained in the legislation. Discussion and Conclusions: the author proposes the classification of figureheads used to create one-day firms. The work draws attention to the importance of fixing in the definition of a figureheads the features that allow differentiating criminal liability in accordance with subjective imputation.