Corporate criminal law
An investigation reaches your company and you personally at the same moment. Since 1 September 2026, article 18 of the new Criminal Code holds the company itself liable for offences committed on its account. That liability does not exclude that of its directors. We set out how the defence of a company and its board runs in Belgium, who decides what, and within what time limit.
When is the company itself prosecuted?
A legal person answers for offences that have an intrinsic link with its object or with its interests. The same holds for offences committed on its account. That rule is in article 18 of the new Code, in force since 1 September 2026. Before that day it was article 5 of the Code of 8 June 1867, which was repealed on the same date. Only ordinary partnerships and companies in formation are treated as a legal person.
The liability of the company does not exclude that of the natural person. The Act of 11 July 2018 dropped the rule that barred a double conviction, with effect from 30 July 2018. The court no longer chooses between the company and its director. Expect the public prosecutor to prosecute both. Article 16 of the new Code still holds that nobody answers for anything other than his own conduct.
Where the prosecution runs against the company and its representative for the same or connected acts, the competent court appoints an ad hoc representative. That is article 2bis of the preliminary title to the Code of Criminal Procedure. Settle early who represents the company in the file and who assists its directors. The page for company directors sets out what that means for the board.
The new Code renumbered every offence. Swindling is now in article 479, breach of trust in article 475 and misuse of company assets in article 476. Forgery and the use of forged documents are brought together in article 451, money laundering in article 502. A note written in 2025 on the same file therefore still carries the old numbering. Always ask how the prosecutor qualifies the facts today.
What we do in a corporate criminal defence case
Our specialists assist companies and entrepreneurs at every stage of the investigation and the trial, from the first police interview to the judgment.
Assistance at police interview
Have you received an invitation to a police interview? We prepare you and we sit with you during the interview.
Access to the criminal file
Are you involved in an investigation and do you want to know where it stands? We file the request for you.
Requesting investigative measures
We look at whether further investigative measures can be asked for while the judicial investigation runs.
Request lifting of seizure
Have your assets been seized? We go through the routes that allow you to ask for their release.
Assistance before the criminal court
Our team assists defendants as well as civil parties at every stage of the trial.
Criminal liability audit
We map the main risks you and your company are exposed to and we set out concrete recommendations.
What you can check yourself before you answer
Read an invitation to a police interview sentence by sentence. A person questioned as a suspect first receives the rights of article 47bis, paragraph 2, of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Those rights include a confidential conversation with a lawyer beforehand and assistance during the interview itself. If the letter sets them out, the law assumes that you already spoke to a lawyer. If it does not, an adult suspect can have the interview postponed once. What follows after that is set out on the page for people suspected of fraud.
A person who is not questioned as a suspect receives the shorter list of article 47bis, paragraph 1, without a right to a lawyer. If it turns out during the conversation that acts may be charged against him, the officer must still give him the rights of paragraph 2. For an employee called in as a witness that is a real prospect. Agree beforehand who is called at that moment. A conviction may not rest on statements taken in breach of the right to consult a lawyer or to be assisted.
Access to the file does not come by itself. During a preliminary investigation, which the public prosecutor leads, a directly interested party asks the prosecutor, who decides within four months. During a judicial investigation the petition goes to the investigating judge, who decides no later than one month after it is entered in the register. When the council chamber settles the procedure, the file is available at the registry at least fifteen days before the hearing. A civil party is a directly interested party too, and we set out that route for victims of fraud.
A seizure of a bank account takes effect as soon as the bank receives the written notice. You ask the investigating judge to lift it under article 61quater, or the public prosecutor under article 28sexies. In both cases the decision has to come within fifteen days. The public prosecutor can also seize assets of equivalent value from your estate, up to the presumed proceeds of the offence.
Check, finally, how powers are divided inside your company. The Court of Cassation accepted on 5 May 2021 that a company can transfer its liability. It may do so only if it did not itself contribute to the offence in any way. It must then show that the person it delegated to had the required competence, authority and means. The person who delegates carries the burden of proof, and the legislature has to allow the transfer. A fellow lawyer who hands over a file will find how we work on the page for referring lawyers.
Frequently asked questions
Can my company itself be prosecuted for fraud?
Yes. A legal person answers for offences that have an intrinsic link with its object or with its interests. The same holds for offences committed on its account. That rule has been in article 18 of the new Code since 1 September 2026. It does not exclude the liability of the natural person who committed the same acts. Where the prosecution runs against both, the competent court appoints an ad hoc representative.
What penalties does a company face in a fraud trial?
The main penalties for legal persons are set out in article 38 of the new Code and run over eight levels. Beside the fine, that article provides for confiscation and closure of the establishment. It also provides for a ban on carrying on an activity that forms part of the object. The ban runs from one to ten years and is published in the Belgian Official Gazette. When the court fixes the fine, it takes the financial capacity of the convicted person into account.
Which article of the new Criminal Code covers swindling?
The new Code renumbered every offence. Swindling is now in article 479, breach of trust in article 475 and misuse of company assets in article 476. Forgery and the use of forged documents are brought together in article 451, money laundering in article 502. A note written in 2025 on the same file therefore still carries the old numbering.
Does a delegation of powers protect me as a director?
A delegation of powers protects only when it meets the conditions the case law sets. The Court of Cassation held on 5 May 2021 that a company can transfer its liability. It may do so only if it did not itself contribute to the offence in any way. It must then show that it delegated its obligations and its powers to a person with the required competence, authority and means. The person who delegates carries the burden of proof. Where the law imposes a duty personally, no delegation helps.
When do I get access to the criminal file?
Access is asked for by petition, and the time limit depends on who leads the investigation. During a preliminary investigation the public prosecutor decides within four months. During a judicial investigation the investigating judge decides no later than one month after the petition is entered in the register. If the investigating judge refuses, an appeal lies to the indictment division within eight days. That division decides without a hearing within fifteen days.
How do I ask for a seizure of a bank account to be lifted?
A seizure of a bank account takes effect as soon as the bank receives the written notice. You ask the investigating judge to lift it under article 61quater, or the public prosecutor under article 28sexies. In both cases the decision has to come within fifteen days.
What can I do if the judicial investigation takes too long?
Where a judicial investigation runs longer than a year, the person charged and the civil party can bring the matter before the indictment division. That is article 136, second paragraph, of the Code of Criminal Procedure. You can also ask the investigating judge for a further investigative measure at any moment. He decides within one month, on pain of nullity.