The criminal liability of legal entities is a matter of significant legal importance. Their liability is subject to the actions or omissions of a natural person who has the legal capacity to act or refrain from acting on their behalf. The legal representatives of companies, in accordance with the law, are the administrators. Their criminal liability is independent of the liability of the companies and may be attributable to the poor performance of their duties, because they are in a position of guarantor, due to their expressly designated duties of supervision and control, an obligation that involves the implementation of crime prevention programs, which can serve as a tool for exemption and mitigation of both their criminal liability and that of the company.
This has emerged as a wake-up call for company directors and partners to seek measures to ensure that their companies operate within the framework of legal compliance, which translates into Compliance, which has proven to be an effective tool for entrepreneurs who want their companies to operate within the framework of legality, with compliance programs that greatly reduce the potential penalties for the legal entity.
The legal representatives of companies are their administrators, who are criminally liable for any illegal activities carried out within the company and may even be liable for the actions of third parties under their supervision. For a director to be released from liability, it is not enough to not be the direct perpetrator of the criminal act; they must also have used all mechanisms to prevent the criminal act from being committed under their supervision and surveillance, applying effective criminal compliance programs.
