Object of research: public relations that arise in connection with the prevention and counteraction of crime in the banking sector of Ukraine. Purpose: to substantiate the concept of combating the criminalization of the banking sphere of the economy using the methodology of institutionalism, analysis of the reasons for the formation of certain criminal practices in criminal institutions and the institutional mechanism of counteraction to shadow and criminal activity in the banking sphere, and to provide suggestions for its improvement. Methods: general and special methods of cognition, in particular, dialectical, modern criminological research methods (institutional, sociological, statistical, comparative, formal-dogmatic, etc.). Theoretical and practical results, scientific novelty: the criminalization of the banking sector is defined as a social destructive process, within which legal banking institutions deform and acquire criminal properties, which leads to negative consequences for the economy; the institutional model of crime prevention in the banking sector is proposed as a multilevel system that ensures the implementation of the strategic objectives of the state criminal policy, which is oriented towards the achievement of a certain result, the main component of which should be the identification of dysfunctions in the investigated system and the formation of intolerance to unlawful acts in society; separate international financial institutions as counteracting crime in the banking sector, the role of which is expressed in specific criminological activity, is to stimulate the political will of the Ukrainian state leadership to take measures to bring Ukrainian legislation and law enforcement practice to the level of international standards; Improved: the doctrine of the determination of crime in the banking sector and the systematization of determinants by developing a scientific position on the institutionalization of criminal and shadow processes and expanded self-reproduction of criminal practices in the field of economics; Definition of the content of the concept of "crime in banking" as a set of crimes encroaching on property, property rights of banks or their clients, on the established procedure for the functioning of banks and the banking system, bank secrecy, or insider information of banks; The criminological classification of crimes in the banking sphere by types of banking activity is defined: crimes in the field of bank lending; crimes in the field of settlement operations of banks; crimes in the field of deposit operations of banks; other crimes related to the activities of banking institutions (securities transactions, foreign economic activity, trust operations, etc.); separate elements of the doctrine of international cooperation in the area of combating bank crime in terms of institutional methodology. Practical significance: the results obtained can be used in the research area with further investigation of crimes in the banking sector and the development of measures to counteract these crimes; in the field of lawmaking for the improvement of the current legislation of Ukraine on the issues of reforming the bodies of justice and control over the activities of the banking sector, investigating the said criminal offenses, criminal liability for these crimes, and preventing such crimes. Sphere of use: in teaching and methodical work during the teaching of the training course "Criminology", preparation of practical and practical manuals on the course "Crime in the field of economics", methodical manuals, etc. The obtained results of the study can also be used in the preparation of textbooks, teaching aids, teaching materials.
