Bribery: problematic regulation of criminal liability and qualification

The study discusses the problematic issues of qualifying bribery crimes. In particular, the paper deals with contentious qualification of bribing if there is a qualifying sign of its conjugation with the extortion of the subject matter of a crime. The emphasis is placed on the essence of the concept of extortion. The study addresses the issue of the relationship between an extortioner (an official) and a mediator in bribery, which indeed serves as an extortioner. It is proposed to criminalize extortion independently, considering the legislative practices. Referring to the emerging civil case law in Russia in this regard, the authors discuss the possibility of expanding the list of elements regarded as a subject matter of bri-bery and including cryptocurrency, a qualitatively new civil turnover element, in the concept of bribe.