Our criminal lawyers will help you get a fair hearing and resolve your issue quickly so you can focus on your business.
What is corporate crime
Under many laws in Victoria and Australia, corporations are treated as if they’re people. This means they can commit crimes. The way that corporations can commit crime depends on the specific laws, but can include:
- An employee, agent or officer of the corporation committing a crime as part of their employment;
- The board of directors or senior management intending, knowing or recklessly carrying out a crime;
- The board of directors or senior management expressly, tacitly or implied that they permitted the crime;
- Having a corporate culture that directs, encourages or leads to non-compliance;
- Failing to maintain a corporate culture that requires compliance; and
- Inadequate management, control or supervision that means the company doesn’t have adequate systems to convey information.
The prosecution doesn’t always have to prove that the company intended to commit the crime or had a motive. Instead they just need to prove that the crime was committed. These cases are often called strict liability or absolute liability offences.
When investigating a crime committed by a company, employees or officers of the company may be interviewed and documents may need to be provided.
Types of corporate crime
There are a broad range of crimes that corporations can be charged with. These include:
- Insider trading;
- Money laundering;
- Competition offences, like cartel conduct or misleading and deceptive conduct;
- Fraud;
- Tax offences, like tax evasion or fraud;
- Bribing a government official;
- False accounting;
- Propagating pyramid schemes;
- Not describing their goods or services correctly;
- Cybercrime;
- Giving false or misleading information to a government agency;
- Theft;
- Environmental offences, like damaging the habitat; and
- Occupational health and safety offences.
Why MNG Lawyers
Our lawyers have over 20 years experience helping people just like you. Being charged with a corporate crime can be a stressful experience, so we take the time to listen to you, explain what your rights are in plain English and outline your options. We can represent you in court and help you get a fair hearing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. In some circumstances, an individual in the company can be charged with the same offence as the corporation. This can be because of something the individual has done or simply because of the senior position they hold in the company.
Depending on the crime, corporations can be fined. These are often significant and can sometimes be based on the turnover of the company.
If an individual in a company is found guilty of a corporate crime, they can also face a fine or a jail term, depending on the crime.
There are several different organisations that may investigate or charge a company with a corporate crime, depending on the crime. These include:
- Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions;
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC);
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC);
- Australian Taxation Office (ATO);
- Australian Federal Police (AFP);
- Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC);
- WorkSafe Victoria;
- Victoria Police; and
- Victorian Director of Public Prosecutions.