Embezzlement or Misappropriation

in Soviet criminal law, one of the forms of stealing state or public property. The crime involves taking possession of or expending such property that was legally received, for example, for storage. The stealing of socialist property by an official through abuse of office is considered equivalent to embezzlement or misappropriation.

Embezzlement or misappropriation is punishable by deprivation of freedom for a period of up to four years, correctional labor for a period of up to one year, or deprivation of the right to occupy certain offices or engage in certain activities. Liability for these crimes is increased if the crime is committed repeatedly, if the crime is planned beforehand by a group of people, or if the state or a public organization suffered particularly great losses as a result.

The criminal codes of most of the Union republics—with the exception of the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the Byelorussian SSR, the Armenian SSR, and the Estonian SSR—provide for criminal liability for embezzlement or misappropriation of the personal property of citizens; for example, the Criminal Code of the Uzbek SSR provides for deprivation of freedom or correctional labor for a period of up to one year.