For companies and directors
A supplier that does not exist sends an invoice that does get paid. An investor transfers funds to an account presented under a false capacity. Fraud by deception is the offence of article 479 of the Belgian Criminal Code. This page sets out what the statute punishes, where the line with breach of trust runs, and which steps are open to you.
When is there fraud by deception?
Article 479 of the Criminal Code defines fraud by deception as seeking, with fraudulent intent, to obtain an unlawful economic advantage for oneself or for another. That is done either by using false names or false capacities, or by employing fraudulent devices to win another person’s trust by stealth. The fraudulent intent and the means used must therefore both be present.
The statute attaches a level 3 penalty to this offence. For a legal person, article 38 of the Criminal Code sets a fine at that level of more than 360,000 euro up to 600,000 euro. Those are the figures in the statute. The surcharges of the act of 5 March 1952 come on top. Article 480 raises the penalty to level 4 where the victim is a minor or a vulnerable person.
The new Criminal Code has applied since 1 September 2026. The Criminal Code of 8 June 1867 was repealed on that day. For facts before that date the old code still governs, unless the new act is more favourable to the accused. The old article 496 used a longer list of devices. Every file is therefore read twice today, and the date of the facts decides. We wrote earlier about the conditions under the former article 496.
Where does the line with breach of trust run?
The line lies at the moment the perpetrator received the asset. In fraud by deception the victim hands the asset over, persuaded by a false name, a false capacity or a fraudulent device. In breach of trust the asset had already been handed over, under a duty to return it or to use it for a set purpose. Article 475 therefore requires no device. Both offences carry a level 3 penalty.
The Criminal Code holds two neighbouring offences that often run alongside a corporate file. Article 476 punishes misuse of company assets: the director in fact or in law who, with fraudulent intent, uses the assets or the credit of the legal person for personal ends. Article 451 punishes forgery of documents and the use of forged documents. Both also sit at level 3.
Whoever then conceals or converts the proceeds ends up under article 502, which punishes money laundering. There, on top of the level 3 penalty, an additional fine of up to 2,000,000 euro applies, or up to the value of the laundered assets. One set of facts therefore often yields more than one charge in practice.
What does a company do after it has been defrauded?
A party who claims to be harmed by an offence can lodge a complaint with the competent investigating judge and join the case as a civil party. That complaint itself opens a judicial investigation, under article 63 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 67 allows the step at any stage of the proceedings, until the close of the debate. A party seeking only to record its loss files a declaration of injured person with the prosecutor or the police.
The civil party is a directly interested party within the meaning of article 21bis, § 1, second paragraph, of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It can therefore request access to the criminal file, through articles 21bis and 61ter. Speed matters here, because a protective attachment freezes assets while the investigation runs.
That attachment requires three things: urgency, a claim that is certain and due and either established or open to a provisional estimate, and an application to the attachment judge. The application is ruled on within eight days of filing at the latest. Protective garnishment in the hands of a third party can be done without prior judicial leave, on the basis of authentic or private deeds, by a bailiff. Our fraud investigation runs through to damage recovery.
Where the perpetrator is your own employee, article 18 of the act of 3 July 1978 on employment contracts applies. An employee answers to the employer and to third parties only for wilful misconduct and gross negligence, and for slight negligence only where it is habitual rather than accidental. A person who commits fraud by deception acts wilfully, so that limitation gives no shelter. The page for companies that discover fraud sets out the first days.
What if your company or you are under suspicion?
A person questioned as a suspect receives the rights of article 47bis, § 2, of the Code of Criminal Procedure beforehand. They include a confidential consultation with a lawyer before the interview and the assistance of that lawyer during it. A conviction may not rest on statements taken in breach of that right. We provide assistance at the police interview.
The company and the director stand side by side in the file. A legal person bears criminal responsibility under article 18 of the Criminal Code, and that responsibility does not exclude the responsibility of the individual. Article 16 holds that nobody bears criminal responsibility other than for their own conduct. Where the prosecution runs against the company and against its representative for the same or connected facts, the competent court appoints an ad hoc representative.
The public prosecutor can propose a criminal settlement as long as the fact does not appear to call for a principal sentence of more than two years imprisonment or heavier. The loss caused to another must then be fully compensated. If the perpetrator pays the sum, that payment counts before the civil court as an irrebuttable presumption of fault. Our page on the criminal defence of the company and the page for those suspected of fraud set out the next steps.
Frequently asked questions
Is fraud by deception still article 496 of the Belgian Criminal Code?
No. Since 1 September 2026 fraud by deception sits in article 479 of the new Criminal Code. The Criminal Code of 8 June 1867, which contained article 496, was repealed on that same day. For facts before 1 September 2026 the old code still governs, unless the new act is more favourable to the accused. The date of the facts therefore decides which text governs your file.
What penalty applies to fraud by deception?
A level 3 penalty. For a legal person, article 38 of the Criminal Code sets a fine at that level of more than 360,000 euro up to 600,000 euro. Those are the figures in the statute, still to be increased by the surcharges of the act of 5 March 1952. Article 480 raises the penalty to level 4 where the victim is a minor or a vulnerable person.
What is the difference between fraud by deception and breach of trust?
The difference lies in the moment the perpetrator received the asset. In fraud by deception the victim hands the asset over, persuaded by a false name, a false capacity or a fraudulent device. In breach of trust the asset had already been handed to the perpetrator, under a duty to return it or to use it for a set purpose. Article 475 therefore requires no device at all.
Can my company join the criminal case as a civil party?
Yes. A party who claims to be harmed by an offence can lodge a complaint with the competent investigating judge and join the case as a civil party. Article 63 of the Code of Criminal Procedure thereby opens a judicial investigation. Article 67 allows that step at any stage of the proceedings, until the close of the debate. A party seeking only to record its loss files a declaration of injured person instead.