If the finder of someone else’s thing did not begin to look for its owner and tried to destroy the signs that the thing has a different owner, this will be considered theft
The Constitutional Court ruled that the appropriation of a found thing, which has a sign of dishonesty, is considered theft. This conclusion was reached in the highest instance after studying the complaints of Albina Galimyanova and Viktor Puzryakov, who were previously found guilty of stealing mobile phones.
If a person sees how the owner of the thing has dropped it or forgotten it somewhere, he must notify the owner of the property about this. A citizen who accidentally finds such a thing is obliged to declare the find, try to find the owner and return this thing to him.
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Under Russian law, failure to fulfill these obligations is not considered a crime, the court said in a statement. At the same time, if a person tries to hide a thing or destroys signs that will help find the owner, for example, pulls out a SIM card, such behavior indicates the intent to steal.
In order to make a decision, the courts must evaluate the fact of taking possession of the found thing and “its subsequent conversion in their favor,” the court determined.
