GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SENTENCING AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE PERPETRATOR OF THEFT OF ENERGY CARRIERS FROM PIPELINES

Author(s): Pleshakov A.M., Tumanov A.S.

Rubric: Relevant aspects of criminal law, criminal proceedings and criminalistics

DOI: 10.21777/2587-9472-2025-4-37-44

Release: 2025-4 (48)

Pages: 37-44

Keywords: theft from a pipeline, oil, petroleum products, gas, theft of energy resources, sentencing, criminal identity, criminological characteristics, differentiation of responsibility

Annotation: This article analyzes the general principles of sentencing and criminological characteristics of the perpetrator’s personality in relation to such a specific crime as theft from an oil pipeline, an oil product pipeline or a gas pipe- line (paragraph “b” of Part 3 of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The relevance of this study is determined by the high social danger of these acts and the presence of pronounced problems in law enforcement practice that require scientific understanding. The methodological basis was a systematic analysis of the materials of criminal cases, which made it possible to differentiate criminal attacks into two main groups: theft of oil and petroleum products, and theft of gas. The study showed that, despite the uniform criminal law norm, judicial practice demonstrates a sustainable differentiated approach. It was found that in the vast majority of cases (85 %), actual imprisonment is imposed for the theft of oil and petroleum products, while a suspended sentence is almost always applied for the theft of gas (97 %). Punishments such as fines and forced labor are imposed only in isolated cases (15 % and 2 %, respectively). The article analyzes in detail the typical mitigating and aggravating circumstances, as well as presents a criminological portrait of the perpetrators, which differs significantly for the two groups in motivation, level of organization and socio-demographic indicators. In the text of the article, the Russian Federation is abbreviated as RF.

Bibliography: Pleshakov A.M., Tumanov A.S. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF SENTENCING AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE PERPETRATOR OF THEFT OF ENERGY CARRIERS FROM PIPELINES // Journal of Legal Sciences. – 2025. – № 4 (48). – С. 37-44. doi: 10.21777/2587-9472-2025-4-37-44