Current Problems of Illegal Entrepreneurship as a Negative Factor Affecting the Sustainable Development of the Regional Economy

The sustainable development of regional economies has become a priority. While the contemporary market economy mechanism ensures the protection and stability of social welfare, illegal entrepreneurship under current conditions has emerged as a negative factor, hindering the sustainable development of the country’s economic potential, including its regions. The issues surrounding the impact of illegal entrepreneurship have consistently attracted scholarly interest, especially in the context of Russia’s economic potential development amid evolving market relations. Consequently, this research aims to examine illegal entrepreneurship in the context of its influence on the sustainability of regional economic development. Various scientific methods were employed in the analysis, including dialectical, systemic, structural-functional, formal-legal, comparative-legal, and legal modeling methods. As a result of the research, using the Krasnodar Territory as an example, the authors established an algorithm illustrating the impact of illegal entrepreneurship on the sustainability of the region’s economic development and formulated a mechanism for enhancing the legislative framework to foster the creation of an integrated system for sustainable regional economic development. Considering the scale and uniqueness of the topic, the authors identified a range of issues determining illegal entrepreneurship and made proposals to improve the regulatory framework within the scope of combating this type of crime.