Abstract: The research subject is the prosecutorial and investigative practice of investigation of crimes in housing and utilities sector, the scientific works in this field and the statistical data. The research object is social relations emerging in the process of investigating crimes in housing and utilities sector. The authors analyze the practice of reported offences consideration and criminal cases investigation in this sphere. Special attention is given to the detection of the breaches of law, committed by law enforcement agencies during pre-trial investigation of criminal cases in this sphere. The paper analyzes the works of Russian scholars on this issue and the official statistics of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation, devoted to this category of criminal cases. The research methodology is based on formal-logical, comparative-legal, logical, structural-functional and normative methods helping consider the issue comprehensively. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the complex consideration of the detected weaknesses of law enforcement agencies’ activities within the investigation of crimes of this category, and in the proposals about these weaknesses elimination.

Pre-trial reviews are not sufficient. Requests for the necessary documents are not sent in proper time. Refusals to initiate criminal proceedings are issued ahead of time.
Pre-trial investigation of criminal cases is not effective. Reasonable terms of criminal proceedings are breached. Measures to detect the guilty persons and the circumstances that should be proved according to the article 73 of the Criminal Code, are not assumed in due time.
Forensic enquiries are not appointed in due time. Usually it happens because of the lack of specialists or equipment, or high price for expertise (it can be up to 300 000 rubles in nongovernmental institutions).
The level of interaction between operational and investigative departments and control and supervision agencies in the sphere of prevention, detection, and elimination of breaches, is low.
The property of the accused person, which can compensate the property damage, is not detected and sequestered in due time.

It seems that the elimination and prevention of such weaknesses can raise the effectiveness of the work of bodies responsible for pre-trial investigation of criminal cases in housing and utility sector. 

Abstract: The subject of this research is the Russian legal acts that comprise the fundament of the fight against legalization (laundering) of illegal gains, as well as the practice of their implementation. The object of the research is the public relations that emerge in the process of counteraction to the crimes in this category. The second part of the article provides detailed examination of the genesis of the positions on legalization (laundering) of “dirty” money and their influence upon law enforcement practice. A special attention is given to the issues of prosecution (investigation and trial), as well as proposals on the ways and means of their solution. The author was able to determine the causes of negative trends in the investigative practice of legalization of “dirty” money and substantiate their interconnection with the legal norms aimed at fighting laundering of these funds. Analysis of the legal norms and prosecution practice in the historical aspect of their development allowed the author to determine the special status of the decisions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and their influence upon qualification of acts in the area of laundering of criminal gains.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the Russian and foreign normative legal acts that comprise legal foundation for the fight against legalization (laundering) of the criminal income which was realized using the offshore zones. The object is the public relations emerging in the process of counteraction of crimes of the reviewed category. In the first part of this article the author carefully examines such aspects of the topic as the genesis of criminal act – “laundering” of the income. Special attention is given to its legal codification and determination of the main components of the definition of “laundering” that is contained in the international Conventions and Russian legislation. As a result of this research, the authors were able to reveal the main aspects of the definition of legalization (laundering) of the criminal income, realized using the offshore zones; detect correlation between the international norms and the positions of Russian legislation which regulate the process of counteraction of the aforementioned crime; establish the chronology and reasons of the changes introduced into the Article 174 and 1741 of the Criminal Code of Russian Federation, which are aimed at improving the legislation in the sphere of fight against legalization (laundering) of criminal income.