Rectification and recovery
You are facing fraud and you want to put right what went wrong. As the company bearing the loss, you want to recover as much of it as you can. If you are the one under suspicion, rectification is often in your own interest as well. We set out the routes Belgian law leaves open, and what each one requires of you.
Why rectification often comes before a criminal complaint
Filing a criminal complaint is usually the last step in this kind of case. From the start of our involvement our specialists work out with you what matters most to you. That may be to limit the loss, to repair it, to set an example inside the company, or to keep the matter discreet. That sets the focus. Depending on your priorities and on the outcome of the audit, we have a wide range of options.
We review with you whether the staff involved should be dismissed, and we make sure that is done correctly in law. Where management or directors made the acts possible, we go further. We also look at the contractual and corporate law options for replacing them.
We give the financial loss our attention from the first day. We map the assets of the possible wrongdoers as early as we can. An attachment can then be levied before they learn of the investigation. Article 1445 of the Belgian Judicial Code allows a third-party protective attachment through a bailiff. It can be based on authentic or private instruments, and needs no prior court order.
Once the loss is quantified, we confront the wrongdoers with our findings. We then look for a settlement agreement whenever that is possible and sensible. Our experience is that many of them are willing to cooperate. That is often a more efficient way to keep proceedings from dragging on for years.
What you can come to us for
Fraud audit
On the basis of the audit findings we go through the options that suit your company best.
Damage recovery
We map the assets of the possible wrongdoers and decide with you quickly whether to attach them.
Criminal settlement (art. 216bis CCP)
If you want to reach a criminal settlement in a criminal case, we can assist you thanks to our extensive experience.
Tax regularisation and tax rectification
We check with you whether the income on your assets was declared correctly, and whether a regularisation is needed.
Mediation
Calling on a certified mediator to resolve disputes, or on a lawyer with mediation experience.
Request lifting of seizure
If you are the subject of a criminal seizure, we review with you the options for asking the court to lift it.
Assistance before the criminal court
Our experienced team guides both defendants and victims through every phase of the criminal process.
What you can check yourself before the first meeting
Check first when the acts took place. Book 6 of the Belgian Civil Code, on non-contractual liability, entered into force on 1 January 2025. It applies only to acts that occurred after that date. For older acts the previous law of liability continues to apply.
Then work out who you can hold liable. Article 6.3, paragraph 2, of the Civil Code ends the quasi-immunity of the auxiliary. You can now sue the employee, the director or the subcontractor of your contracting party directly in tort. That auxiliary may still raise the same defences as the party that engaged him. Those defences do not apply where the wrong was committed with the intention of causing harm.
Assess what you can recover from your own staff. Article 18 of the Act of 3 July 1978 on employment contracts limits an employee’s liability. He is liable only for wilful misconduct and gross negligence. He is liable for slight negligence only where it is habitual rather than accidental. Anyone who committed wilful misconduct falls outside that protection. The colleague who contributed through carelessness stays protected.
Look at the employer of the person involved as well. Article 6.14 of the Civil Code makes a principal liable without fault. That principal is liable for the harm his agent causes to third parties during and in connection with the exercise of his duties. Article 6.15 does the same for a private legal person in respect of its management bodies. The duties of a director are set out on Company directors.
Check the limitation period last. A civil claim arising from an offence is time-barred under the Civil Code, but it cannot expire before the prosecution does. If your company carries the loss, read Victims of fraud. If you are the one being prosecuted, read White collar crime defence. If a fellow lawyer refers a file to us, read Referring lawyers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still avoid a criminal trial through a criminal settlement?
The public prosecutor may propose a criminal settlement until a final judgment has been given in the criminal case. It remains possible after an investigating judge takes charge, and once the case is before the trial court or the court of appeal. Since 1 September 2026 that power is narrower. It applies only where the act does not appear to warrant a principal sentence of more than two years of imprisonment, or a heavier sentence. For a company the law also sets a ceiling on the fine.
Do I have to compensate the victim first?
The loss caused to another must be compensated in full before the prosecutor can propose a criminal settlement. By way of exception a written acknowledgement of civil liability is enough. It must be accompanied by proof of payment and of the settlement of the uncontested part. For a tax or social security offence you first pay the evaded taxes or contributions with interest, and the administration has to agree. The court reviews all of that when it confirms the agreement.
What does a paid settlement mean for my civil claim?
Where the wrongdoer pays the sum of money, that payment is an irrebuttable presumption of fault before the civil court. You still have to prove the loss and the causal link, but no longer the fault. The injured party retains the right to bring its claim before the competent civil court. The settlement does not affect the prosecution of the other perpetrators and participants either.
How quickly can I attach the wrongdoer’s assets?
A third-party protective attachment is levied by a bailiff. It can be based on authentic or private instruments, and needs no prior court order. In the other cases you ask the attachment judge for leave, by petition. That leave requires urgency and a claim that is certain and due, and either fixed or capable of provisional assessment. The petition is ruled on within eight days of filing at the latest. The attachment runs for three years from the order and can be renewed.
Can a tax regularisation settle a fraud case?
A tax regularisation rarely settles such a case. The law excludes sums that can be linked to swindling, theft, extortion or corruption. The declaration also has no effect if you were informed in writing beforehand of specific investigative steps under way. Federal tax regularisation has been open again since the programme act of 18 July 2025. In the Flemish Region a separate scheme for inheritance and registration duties opened on 1 January 2026. The declaration must be filed there by 31 December 2029 at the latest.