Asset Infidelity (Art. 2634 Civil Code)

Asset Infidelity (Art. 2634 Civil Code)

Asset infidelity concerns the conduct of directors or executives who, in violation of their duties, carry out acts disposing of corporate assets causing damage to the company.

The offence assumes particular importance when the operation is carried out in a conflict of interest situation and causes patrimonial prejudice to the entity. In corporate criminal law, this offence lies at the boundary between criminal liability and managerial discretion, requiring careful assessment of corporate decisions and the context in which they were adopted.

Investigation Structure

Criminal investigation requires verification of the existence of a conflict of interest between the subject and the company, the carrying out of an act of patrimonial disposition and the existence of damage to the entity. It is also necessary to ascertain the subjective element of intent, namely the agent's awareness of operating in a conflict of interest and of causing patrimonial prejudice to the company.

Defence Method

The defence is based on the analysis of the corporate operation and the reconstruction of the decision-making process that led to its implementation, with particular attention to verifying the actual existence of the conflict of interest and patrimonial damage. In corporate criminal law it is essential to distinguish between legitimate management choices, even if economically risky or debatable, and conduct actually suitable to constitute criminal liability.