CORPORATE CRIMES · FINANCIAL & MARKET OFFENSES

Italian Corporate Crimes Lawyer in Milan

Specialist criminal defense for directors, statutory auditors, supervisory body members and executives in proceedings for false accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, obstruction of supervision and market abuses. Confidential consultation within 24 hours.

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Milano Centro Absolute Confidentiality Experience under Leg. Decree 231

The situations we face every day

The Firm assists entrepreneurs and directors daily in contexts of high criticality.

False corporate communications

Charges for false accounting (artt. 2621-2622 c.c.) often rely on balance sheet valuations challengeable with expert technical reports.

Consob market abuse proceedings

Insider trading and market manipulation are punished up to 12 years imprisonment: defense requires specific expertise in financial criminal law.

Breach of fiduciary duty

Intra-group operations and conflicts of interest can be challenged as breach of fiduciary duty (art. 2634 c.c.) with penalties up to 3 years.

Obstruction of supervisory functions

Sanctions for obstruction of supervisory functions (art. 2638 c.c.) reach €100,000 and 4 years: relevant for directors of supervised entities.

How we protect you

Defense during Consob/GdF investigation

Assistance from the investigation commencement notice, access to records, defense brief and adversarial process with inspection bodies.

Balance sheet expert and valuation analysis

Support of auditors and accounting experts to challenge balance sheet valuations contested as false corporate communications.

Insider trading and market abuse defense

Analysis of information flows, demonstration of absence of privileged information and challenge of causality in market abuse.

Full representation to Supreme Court

Integrated representation at all levels of proceedings, with specialization in legitimacy issues on financial crimes.

Corporate crimes are governed by arts. 2621-2641 of the Civil Code and the TUF (D.Lgs. 58/1998) for market offenses. They concern directors, general managers, statutory auditors, liquidators and auditors. Penalties range from 6 months to 12 years for the most serious offenses (market abuse).

Main corporate offenses table

Offense	Article	Penalty
False accounting (unlisted)	art. 2621 c.c.	1–5 years
False accounting (listed)	art. 2622 c.c.	3–8 years
Breach of fiduciary duty	art. 2634 c.c.	6 months – 3 years
Obstruction of supervision	art. 2638 c.c.	1–4 years

Market abuse offenses (MAR + TUF)

Insider trading (art. 184 TUF) is punished by imprisonment from 2 to 12 years and a fine up to €3M. Market manipulation (art. 185 TUF) with imprisonment from 1 to 12 years. The MAR Regulation (EU n. 596/2014) extended the scope to OTC instruments and SME growth markets. Consob is an active party in investigations and defense must deal with the dual sanctioning track (criminal + administrative).

Defense strategies in corporate crimes

Challenge materiality of accounting misstatements with expert reports
Demonstrate absence of specific intent to deceive investors
Challenge the existence of privileged information in insider trading
Verify existence of undue advantage in breach of fiduciary duty
Activate plea bargaining for offenses with reduced punishability thresholds

Recent cases successfully resolved

Case A – AIM listed company

False accounting for overvaluation of shareholdings in consolidated balance sheet.

Full acquittal: balance sheet expert demonstrated correctness of valuation methodology adopted.

Case B – M&A transaction

Insider trading contested in M&A acquisition. Risk of 8 years.

Acquittal: absence of privileged information demonstrated through information flow analysis.

Case C – Holding and subsidiaries

Breach of fiduciary duty in intra-group operations: asset transfer at non-market conditions.

Reclassification with acquittal. Intra-group compensating advantages demonstrated.

The Firm's Method

Initial confidential consultation

First meeting within 24 hours: case analysis, risk assessment and defense strategy.

File access and technical analysis

Access to the investigation file, appointment of expert witnesses, in-depth documentary and financial analysis.

Tailored defense strategy

Preparation of defense briefs, precautionary applications, appeals to the Liberty Court or pre-notitia criminis interventions.

Representation at all court levels

Representation at trial, appeal and Supreme Court; parallel management of any 231 proceedings.

Our Team