Criminal liability audit for your company

The legislature imposes increasingly more measures for which a breach carries criminal sanctions. That goes beyond tax and social security fraud: a breach of environmental legislation, safety regulations, compliance rules or accounting standards can also be prosecuted criminally. No sector escapes it.

Money laundering, misuse of company assets, fraud, breach of trust and forgery are all punished with a level 3 sanction, each with its own additional fine where the law allows it. Social security forgery falls under level 4 of the Social Criminal Code, and serious tax fraud under level 3 of tax criminal law.

For the company itself, the statutory fine runs, per level, up to 5,760,000 euro for the heaviest level, still to be increased with the statutory surcharges. Besides the fine, the judge can ban the company’s activity, close its premises or order publication of the conviction: sanctions that often hit the company harder than the amount itself.

Non-payment of social security contributions and social security forgery also fall under the Social Criminal Code, with sanctions reaching level 3 and level 4 respectively. The circle of possible offenders is wide: social security forgery targets “anyone” acting with the aim of obtaining a social benefit, even without the status of employer, agent or mandate holder.

Where an offence does not appear in the Criminal Code itself but in a special law, the judge reads the fine set out in that law multiplied by eight, unless the facts predate the entry into force of the new Criminal Code. Our audit identifies which special laws are relevant to your sector, and the resulting fine range.

We put our years of experience in criminal liability, both academic and in practice, at your disposal. The court itself recognises that expertise and regularly appoints us as ad hoc mandate holder to defend companies that must appear before the criminal court alongside one or more directors. That dual background, academic and practical, lets us deliver an audit that does not stop at theory.

Together with you, we review the measures your company already applies today, and assess whether they are sufficient or need refining. You receive our findings as an audit report with concrete recommendations where needed, and we help you implement them if you wish, including through a delegation of powers.

Where such a delegation is missing or not well founded, we draw it up with you. It only protects the delegate director where they hold the required competence, authority and means, and only for duties the law does not impose personally on a specific director.

If you are considering acquiring a company, our criminal due diligence fits that specific assignment better. Company directors find on the company directors page the eight other assignments we carry out for them, including our anti-fraud audit and our whistleblowing procedure audit.

The audit examines the risks of tax and social security fraud, breaches of environmental legislation, safety regulations and compliance rules, and specific offences such as money laundering, misuse of company assets and forgery. No sector is exempt. You receive the findings as an audit report with concrete recommendations.

Besides the fine, the judge can ban the company’s activity, close its premises or order publication of the conviction. These sanctions often hit the company harder than the amount itself, because they also affect its operations and reputation.

For the company itself, the statutory fine runs, per level, up to 5,760,000 euro for the heaviest level, still to be increased with the statutory surcharges. Where an offence does not appear in the Criminal Code itself but in a special law, the judge reads the fine set out in that law multiplied by eight, unless the facts predate the entry into force of the new Criminal Code.

Yes, the court recognises our experience in criminal liability and regularly appoints us as ad hoc mandate holder. In that role, we defend companies that must appear before the criminal court alongside one or more directors, alongside the audit work that precedes a case.