{"id":150240,"date":"2026-10-07T09:46:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T09:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legal500.com\/guides\/?post_type=comparative_guide&#038;p=150240"},"modified":"2026-10-07T09:46:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T09:46:38","slug":"colombia-white-collar-crime","status":"publish","type":"comparative_guide","link":"https:\/\/www.legal500.com\/guides\/chapter\/colombia-white-collar-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia: White Collar Crime"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-150240","comparative_guide","type-comparative_guide","status-publish","hentry","guides-white-collar-crime","jurisdictions-colombia"],"acf":[],"appp":{"post_list":{"below_title":"<div class=\"guide-author-details\"><span class=\"guide-author\">Sintura Abogados<\/span><span class=\"guide-author-logo\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.legal500.com\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1\/2026\/09\/Logo-Principal-Fondo-gris.jpg\"\/><\/span><\/div>"},"post_detail":{"above_title":"<div class=\"guide-author-details\"><span class=\"guide-author\">Sintura Abogados<\/span><span class=\"guide-author-logo\"><img src=\"https:\/\/www.legal500.com\/guides\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1\/2026\/09\/Logo-Principal-Fondo-gris.jpg\"\/><\/span><\/div>","below_title":"<span class=\"guide-intro\">This country specific Q&amp;A provides an overview of White Collar Crime laws and regulations applicable in Colombia<\/span><div class=\"guide-content\"><div class=\"filter\">\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" placeholder=\"Search questions and answers...\" class=\"filter-container__search-field\">\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t<ol class=\"custom-counter\">\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">What are the key financial crime offences applicable to companies and their directors and officers? (E.g. Fraud, money laundering, false accounting, tax evasion, market abuse, corruption, sanctions.) Please explain the governing laws or regulations.<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>In Colombia, as a general rule, criminal liability falls on natural persons who participate as principals, co-principals, instigators, or accomplices. For administrators, officers, employees, contractors, and third parties connected with corporate activity, the main financial criminal risks may be grouped as follows:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Asset and corporate fraud. <\/strong>Depending on the factual dynamics, offenses such as fraud, breach of trust, disloyal administration, private corruption, procedural fraud, and forgery of public or private documents may arise. These are particularly relevant when assets are manipulated, shareholders, clients, creditors, or authorities are deceived, corporate resources are diverted, or inaccurate documents are used to produce legal effects. These offenses are found principally in the Criminal Code \u2014 Law 599 of 2000.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Money laundering and related offenses<\/strong>. Money laundering, illicit enrichment by private individuals, the use of front persons, terrorist financing, and the administration of resources related to terrorist activities may arise when assets of illicit origin are concealed, transformed, administered, invested, transported, or made to appear lawful, or when corporate structures are used to conceal their ownership or destination. For money laundering, it is relevant that the predicate offense may have been committed wholly or partially abroad. These offenses are governed by the Criminal Code and by special prevention and reporting rules applicable to obligated parties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Public, private, and transnational corrupt<\/strong>ion. Relevant offenses may include, among others, bribery, improper interest in the execution of contracts, execution of contracts without compliance with legal requirements, influence peddling, private corruption, and transnational bribery. Transnational bribery applies to the natural person who offers, promises, or gives a benefit to a foreign public official in connection with an international business or transaction. Law 1778 of 2016 also provides for administrative liability of legal entities for that conduct.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tax, customs, and foreign exchange of<\/strong>fenses. Depending on the facts, risks may arise from omission of assets or inclusion of nonexistent liabilities\/debts, tax fraud or evasion, smuggling, aiding and facilitating smuggling, customs fraud, fictitious exports or imports, and trade-based money laundering.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Securities market and financial system. <\/strong>In regulated sectors, offenses such as misuse of privileged information, unauthorized mass and habitual collection of funds, failure to exercise control, and unauthorized operations may apply. Classification requires review of the type of entity, the transaction, the status of the person involved, and the powers of the Financial Superintendence.<\/p>\n<p>Although, as a general rule, a company is not subject to criminal liability, the same facts may give rise to procedural measures, administrative liability, supervisory sanctions, civil damages, contracting disqualifications, and asset forfeiture over property connected with unlawful activities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Can corporates be held criminally liable? If yes, how is this determined\/attributed?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>In Colombia, under the ordinary criminal regime, legal entities are not formally charged or prosecuted as perpetrators of crimes. Criminal liability corresponds to the natural persons who culpably participated in the conduct. This does not prevent a company from facing significant legal consequences arising from acts committed by its administrators, officers, employees, or third parties.<\/p>\n<p>First, Article 91 of Law 906 of 2004 allows a guarantees judge, before the indictment and at the request of the Office of the Attorney General, to order the suspension of legal personality or the temporary closure of premises or establishments when there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been used wholly or partially for criminal activities.<\/p>\n<p>Second, Law 2195 of 2022, which amended Article 34 of Law 1474 of 2011, establishes an administrative sanctioning liability regime for legal entities and branches domiciled in Colombia, among other expressly included subjects.<\/p>\n<p>For this purpose, as provided by Law 2195 of 2022, three (3) requirements must be met:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Subjective: this requirement is satisfied whenever the entity is a legal entity, a branch of a foreign company, a legal entity forming part of a temporary union or consortium, a State industrial and commercial enterprise, a mixed-economy company, or a nonprofit entity.<\/li>\n<li>Territorial: these companies must be domiciled in Colombia.<\/li>\n<li>Material: this requirement is structured around three circumstances:\n<ul>\n<li>i) when there is a final conviction or a final application of the principle of opportunity (similar to an NPA\/DPA) against any of its administrators or officers for the commission of offenses against public administration, the environment, the economic and social order, terrorist financing and financing of organized criminal groups, administration of resources related to terrorist activities and organized crime, those set forth in Law <a href=\"http:\/\/www.secretariasenado.gov.co\/senado\/basedoc\/ley_1474_2011.html#INICIO\">1474<\/a> of 2011 (Anti-Corruption Statute), or any criminal offense related to public assets, committed directly or indirectly;<\/li>\n<li>ii) when the legal entity or branch of a foreign company domiciled in Colombia benefited or sought to benefit, directly or indirectly, from the commission of the criminal offense,<\/li>\n<li>iii) when it consents to or tolerates the commission of the offense, by action or omission, taking into account the application of each legal entity&#8217;s risk controls.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The sanctions that may be imposed include one or more of the following: i) a fine of up to 200,000 current monthly legal minimum wages, to which the greater of the benefit obtained or sought must be added; ii) disqualification from contracting; iii) publication in widely circulated media of an extract of the sanctioning decision up to five (5) times with the frequency indicated by the authority, or on the legal entity&#8217;s website, for a period from six (6) months to one (1) year; iv) prohibition from receiving any Government incentive or subsidy for a period of ten (10) years; v) removal of administrators or other officers or employees who committed the offense or who tolerated or consented to it.<\/p>\n<p>Although Colombian criminal procedure does not permit the prosecution of companies, when external persons or even employees or officers commit crimes that affect the company, the company is expressly authorized to appear as a victim in the respective criminal proceeding. For this purpose, as Article 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides, it is sufficient to establish harm resulting from the criminal conduct.<\/p>\n<p>Third, transnational bribery is subject to a special administrative regime under Law 1778 of 2016, applicable to legal entities that, through employees, contractors, administrators, associates, or subsidiaries, participate in the conduct described therein. The Superintendence of Companies is the authority with jurisdiction to investigate and sanction under this regime, including when the conduct is committed abroad and the allegedly responsible entity or branch is domiciled in Colombia.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, a company may be joined as a civilly liable third party in the cases provided by law, may be exposed to precautionary measures over its assets, or may face asset forfeiture proceedings. These consequences are not equivalent to a criminal conviction of the legal entity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">What are the commonly prosecuted offences personally applicable to company directors and officers?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>There is no single statistical list applicable to all sectors. In practice, exposure depends on the position, actual functions, information available, controls implemented, and the manner in which corporate decisions were adopted or carried out.<\/p>\n<p>The offenses more frequently examined include fraud, breach of trust, disloyal administration, private corruption, document forgery, procedural fraud, tax and customs offenses, money laundering, and related conducts. When government contracting or interaction with public officials is involved, offenses against public administration may also be investigated, including bribery, improper interest in the execution of contracts, execution of contracts without compliance with legal requirements, and influence peddling. In international business, the risk of transnational bribery must also be assessed.<\/p>\n<p>Personal attribution does not arise from position alone. It is necessary to establish the administrator&#8217;s or officer&#8217;s specific participation, knowledge, powers, legal duties, and, where an omission is alleged, the position of guarantor and the actual ability to prevent the result. Accordingly, minutes, approval matrices, delegations, compliance reports, internal warnings, and evidence of controls are particularly relevant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Who are the lead prosecuting authorities which investigate and prosecute financial crime and what are their responsibilities?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p><strong><u>With respect to the authorities responsible for investigating and prosecuting:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The<strong> Office of the Attorney General <\/strong>directs criminal investigations and, when the probability-of-truth standard is met, files the indictment. It acts with the support of the Judicial Police, particularly judicial police units attached to the Office of the Attorney General, the National Police, and, depending on the matter, other entities with judicial police powers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Guarantees judges <\/strong>authorize or review actions affecting fundamental rights in the circumstances defined by law and decide, among other matters, applications for pretrial detention, legality reviews, and certain precautionary measures.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Trial judges <\/strong>conduct the trial and decide criminal liability. Specific jurisdiction varies according to the offense, penalty, amount involved, and special rules; certain offenses, such as money laundering and criminal conspiracy, fall within the jurisdiction of specialized criminal circuit judges.<\/p>\n<p>Other entities may be decisive, although they do not replace the Office of the Attorney General in exercising the criminal action. The UIAF receives and analyzes suspicious transaction reports within its legal framework; the DIAN exercises tax, customs, and foreign exchange powers; the Superintendence of Companies and the Financial Superintendence exercise inspection, supervision, control, and administrative investigative powers within their respective fields; and the Office of the Procurator General and the Office of the Comptroller General may intervene when disciplinary or fiscal liability arises. Information obtained in those proceedings may be referred to the Office of the Attorney General when it reveals the possible commission of crimes.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>With respect to the powers of the Office of the Attorney General<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In Colombia, Article 250 of the Constitution, as amended by Legislative Act No. 3 of 2002, eliminated the jurisdictional powers formerly held by the Office of the Attorney General, under which it could affect fundamental rights such as liberty and privacy and, accordingly, order a person&#8217;s arrest, impose a detention measure, access correspondence or confidential documents such as financial and accounting information, etc., and intercept communications.<\/p>\n<p>Since the aforementioned Legislative Act, Colombia has operated under judicial reservation of civil liberties, such that, in principle, any interference with fundamental rights must be authorized by a Guarantees Judge, upon request by the Office of the Attorney General at a preliminary hearing, in accordance with Article 153 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.<\/p>\n<p>Preliminary hearings are normally held before the oral trial so that the Guarantees Judge may review the legality of requests made by the parties to the criminal proceeding -the Office of the Attorney General and the defense- that affect fundamental rights. The role of the Guarantees Judge is fundamental in a democratic liberal State and in a criminal procedure system structured according to an adversarial logic, because it permits actions to be taken which, if not conducted before a different judge, have the potential to prejudice the official charged with determining a person&#8217;s criminal liability.<\/p>\n<p>Legality reviews carried out by Guarantees Judges may be prior, subsequent, or require both forms of review. This is to indicate that the Office of the Attorney General does not have jurisdictional powers and, therefore, although it is the entity responsible for investigating and prosecuting facts that have the characteristics of a crime, such actions are subject to judicial review when they affect fundamental rights.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Powers of Trial Judges<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>\u00a0<\/u><\/strong>Once the Office of the Attorney General determines that there are grounds to prosecute a person, the case passes to the Trial Court, which will decide on the relevance of the evidence requested by the parties and direct the taking of evidence. Once that process is complete, it must determine whether criminal liability exists.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Which courts hear cases of financial crime? Are they determined by tribunals, judges or juries?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Colombia does not use juries for criminal trials. Jurisdiction lies with professional judges and is determined by the jurisdictional rules of the Code of Criminal Procedure.<\/p>\n<p>Municipal criminal judges hear matters assigned to them by law, including certain property offenses depending on the amount involved. Criminal circuit judges have residual jurisdiction over offenses without a special assignment. Specialized criminal circuit judges hear offenses expressly reserved to them by law, including several associated with organized crime and money laundering. Superior Courts mainly hear second-instance appeals, and the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice hears cassation, extraordinary review, and proceedings involving constitutionally protected officeholders, as provided by law.<\/p>\n<p>A second-instance judgment, whether a conviction or an acquittal, may be challenged through the extraordinary remedy of cassation, which is decided by the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">How do the authorities initiate an investigation? (E.g. Are raids common, are there compulsory document production or evidence taking powers?)<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Article 250 of the Constitution provides four (4) circumstances in which the Office of the Attorney General must investigate facts that have the characteristics of a crime:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ex officio (<em>De oficio<\/em>): one of the several ways in which offenses may be classified in Colombia is between those that may be investigated ex officio and those that require a private complaint. The former are all those that do not require any procedural prerequisite, so the Office of the Attorney General must begin the criminal investigation as soon as it becomes aware of the facts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Indeed, Article 67 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that if a public servant becomes aware of the alleged commission of a crime, the public servant must conduct the investigation if competent to do so; otherwise, the matter must be referred to the appropriate authority.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Criminal report (<em>Denuncia<\/em>): a criminal report applies to offenses that the Office of the Attorney General may investigate ex officio. Its filing is not subject to specific formalities; any person may make one, orally or in writing, and it is sufficient to specify the facts.<\/li>\n<li>Private complaint (<em>Querella<\/em>): this mechanism, together with the special request, operates as an exception to ex officio prosecution because, under Article 70 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it constitutes a procedural prerequisite. Accordingly, the Office of the Attorney General may not conduct the investigation if the victim, the victim&#8217;s legal representative, or the victim&#8217;s heirs -when the victim has died- did not file the private complaint within six (6) months following the alleged commission of the criminal conduct.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The offenses requiring a private complaint are exhaustively listed in Art<em>icle <\/em>74 ibid., and the complainant may withdraw the complaint until before the oral trial begins.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Special request: this power is held exclusively by the Procurator General of the Nation when i) the offense is committed abroad; ii) it has not been ad<em>judicated -non <\/em>b<em>i<\/em>s in idem-; iii) the perpetrator is in Colombia; and iv) one of the following circumstances is met:\n<ul>\n<li>When the perpetrator is a Colombian national or a foreign national and Colombian law punishes the conduct with a custodial sentence whose minimum is not less than two (2) years.<\/li>\n<li>When the offense is committed by a foreign national and the injured party is another foreign national, the minimum sentence provided for the offense is greater than three (3) years, the offense is not political, and extradition is not granted.<\/li>\n<li>For offenses involving violation of diplomatic immunity and offenses against diplomats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In light of the above, it should be clarified that, unlike a private complaint, the special request cannot be withdrawn by the private party and is not subject to a limitation period for filing.<\/p>\n<p>As to the frequency of searches and raids, assigned prosecutors have independence in carrying out this investigative activity and, in any event, its appropriateness will depend on the specific case. In any case, the Office of the Attorney General may order them without first appearing before a Guarantees Judge -that is, without a prior judicial order-. However, if the search and raid is ordered for purposes of arresting the person under investigation, prior authorization from the Guarantees Judge is required, and the judge will review the legality of the request.<\/p>\n<p>Once the search and raid has concluded, the Judicial Police has twelve (12) hours to inform the prosecutor and, if objects have been seized or taken into custody, to submit the corresponding inventory. Within twenty-four (24) hours after receiving the Judicial Police report, the Office of the Attorney General must appear before the Guarantees Judge for a subsequent legality review of the activities carried out (Articles 228 and 237 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, respectively).<\/p>\n<p>Thus, searches and raids are subject to review by a Guarantees Judge, and the Office of the Attorney General must therefore meet the necessary argumentative and evidentiary standard for those purposes, with particular emphasis on the proportionality test that it must establish.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, with respect to the coercive power to require production of documents, two points must be made. First, under Article 225 ibid., the Office<em> of <\/em>the Attorney General must specify in the search and raid order the items to be seized, and the Judicial Police must therefore limit itself exclusively to those items, unless evidentiary material or physical evidence related to another offense is discovered. As noted above, the results of the activity must be submitted to a subsequent legality review before the Guarantees Judge.<\/p>\n<p>Second, it is important to note that there is another investigative activity through which the Office of the Attorney General may request confidential documentation by means of a Selective Search of Databases. This activity is governed by Article 244 ibid., but unlike a search and<em> raid,<\/em> it requires both prior and subsequent judicial authorization. This means that the company or entity administering the database must provide confidential information only if the request is accompanied by the required prior judicial order and that, once the information has been provided, the Office of the Attorney General must appear before the Guarantees Judge to legalize the activity, that is, to verify that what was produced actually corresponds to what was requested and that all required formalities were complied with in the process.<\/p>\n<p>Accordingly, there is indeed an obligation on the party administering the database to provide the requested information or documentation. A deliberate refusal to comply may constitute the offense of fraud against a judicial or administrative police decision, set forth in Article 454 of the Criminal Code, which provides for imprisonment from one (1) to four (4) years and a fine of five (5) to fifty (50) current monthly legal minimum wages.<\/p>\n<p>In sum, although the Office of the Attorney General holds authority over the criminal action, it is subject to strict reviews that must be carried out by Guarantees Judges, whether before the investigative act, afterwards, or both. In any event, an order issued by the Guarantees Judge is mandatory and failure to comply may constitute a criminal offense.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">What powers do the authorities have to conduct interviews?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The nature of each proceeding must be distinguished. The<strong> interrogation of a suspect<\/strong>, governed by Article 282 of Law 906 of 2004, may be conducted by the prosecutor or a judicial police officer when there are reasonable grounds to infer that a person is a perpetrator or participant. Before it is conducted, the person must be informed of his or her rights, including the right to remain silent and to have counsel.<\/p>\n<p>An <strong>interview <\/strong>is an investigative activity aimed at obtaining information from a person who may have knowledge of the facts. It is not equivalent to testimony given at trial, nor is it necessarily conducted under oath. A swo<strong>rn statement, by co<\/strong>ntrast, is given subject to the corresponding formalities and may give rise to consequences if the person fails to tell the truth, without prejudice to constitutional privileges against self-incrimination and statutory exclusions from the duty to testify.<\/p>\n<p>During trial, the examination and cross-examination of witnesses take place before the trial judge and under the rules of orality, adversarial testing, and immediacy. The superintendencies, within their administrative powers, may also require information and take evidence, including sworn interrogations when authorized by law; those proceedings must not be confused with the criminal interrogation of a suspect.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">What rights do interviewees have regarding the interview process? (E.g. Is there a right to be represented by a lawyer at an interview? Is there an absolute or qualified right to silence? Is there a right to pre-interview disclosure? Are interviews recorded or transcribed?)<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The rights depend on the person&#8217;s procedural status and the type of proceeding. If a person is a suspect or may incriminate himself or herself, the person has the right to be informed of that status, to remain silent, not to testify against himself or herself or against a spouse, permanent partner, or relatives within the constitutionally protected degrees of kinship, and to have defense counsel. Article 282 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires that these rights be communicated before an interrogation.<\/p>\n<p>A witness cannot be compelled to incriminate himself or herself. The duty to cooperate and, in certain cases, to testify under oath must be exercised with respect for the privilege against self-incrimination, professional secrecy, and the other exclusions from the duty to testify. Whether counsel is necessary for a witness interview will depend on the circumstances; if there is a real risk of self-incrimination, prior legal assistance should prudently be considered.<\/p>\n<p>Proceedings may be recorded in writing, audio, video, or other technically suitable media, and their authenticity and integrity must be preserved. Access to the information collected is subject to the rules on confidentiality, defense rights, and discovery. The indictment hearing formally triggers the discovery phase, but that does not permit the proposition that the defense always lacks access to information before that stage to be stated as an absolute rule: the scope may vary depending on the proceeding, defense requests, judicial decisions, and the rights at issue.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, with respect to the right to know the evidentiary material, the suspect or the defense may only obtain access to it by the indictment hearing, which marks the conclusion of the investigative stage and the beginning of the trial stage. Notwithstanding this determination, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice has repeatedly held that the crime report -the document setting out the facts for which a person is being investigated- is not confidential and, accordingly, the Office of the Attorney General must provide it whenever requested .<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Do some or all the laws or regulations governing financial crime have extraterritorial effect so as to catch conduct of nationals or companies operating overseas?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Colombian criminal law is governed primarily by the principle of territoriality, but Article 16 of the Criminal Code provides for circumstances of extraterritoriality. These include conduct committed abroad that affects essential legal interests of the Colombian State, certain offenses committed by Colombian public servants, and certain offenses committed abroad by nationals or foreign nationals who are later found in Colombia, provided the statutory requirements relating to minimum penalty, absence of prior adjudication, special request, or extradition are met.<\/p>\n<p>For financial crimes, the place of the conduct, location of the assets, origin and destination of the resources, nationality and presence of the person under investigation, impact on Colombian interests, and existence of proceedings in other jurisdictions must be analyzed case by case. Money laundering expressly includes predicate offenses committed wholly or partially abroad. Transnational bribery, by its very definition, is connected to a foreign public official and to an international business or transaction.<\/p>\n<p>A company&#8217;s operations abroad do not, by themselves, give rise to Colombian criminal jurisdiction or automatic liability of the company. It is essential to verify the territorial or personal nexus provided by law and, where applicable, the application of the administrative transnational bribery regime.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, Colombian criminal law includes at least two offenses that, per se, have a<em>n<\/em> extraterritorial character. The offense of money laundering (Art. 323 of the Criminal Code) is punishable when the criminal activities from which the assets originate are committed wholly or partially abroad. The offense of transnational bribery, in turn, consists of directly or indirectly giving, promising, or offering a foreign public official sums of money or any other item of pecuniary value in exchange for that official performing, omitting, or delaying any act related to the exercise of his or her functions and in connection with an international business or transaction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Do the authorities commonly cooperate with foreign authorities? If so, under what arrangements?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>International cooperation is relevant in financial investigations involving transfers, companies, assets, communications, suppliers, or witnesses located in other jurisdictions. The Office of the Attorney General, through its divisions with jurisdiction over international matters, channels requests for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, permitted exchanges of information, and cooperation with foreign authorities.<\/p>\n<p>Cooperation may be based on bilateral and multilateral treaties, international conventions ratified by Colombia, mutual legal assistance requests, letters rogatory, police cooperation mechanisms, and instruments for tracing, freezing, confiscating, and recovering assets. The United Nations Convention against Corruption, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, and Interpol channels are relevant depending on the case.<\/p>\n<p>The UIAF participates in cooperation networks among financial intelligence units within the applicable legal and operational limits. Because effective access to international channels and exchange protocols may change, any specific statement regarding operational restrictions, suspensions, or reinstatements should be verified against an official source immediately before publication.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the Office of the Attorney General has a Directorate of International Affairs whose functions include responding to requests concerning international technical and judicial cooperation, channeling requests from the entity&#8217;s divisions on matters related to international cooperation, channeling exchanges of information among international investigation, security, and intelligence bodies, and managing international cooperation to identify and locate assets that are the proceeds of crime and are located in Colombia or other countries, either directly or at the request of other governments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">What are the rules regarding legal professional privilege? What, if any, material is protected from production or seizure by financial crime authorities?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Article 74 of the Constitution provides that professional secrecy is inviolable. In criminal matters, Article 223 of Law 906 of 2004 protects from search written communications between the suspect, formally charged person, or accused and his or her lawyers, as well as certain files containing confidential information related to those communications. The Code also protects, for discovery purposes, information covered by professional secrecy and preparatory work product of the prosecution or the defense.<\/p>\n<p>The protection covers confidential attorney-client communications connected with legal advice or defense. It should not be framed as unlimited immunity for every document located in a law office, nor for materials that constitute an instrument, object, or proceeds of criminal conduct. The analysis requires consideration of the content, purpose, origin, recipient, reasonable expectation of confidentiality, and connection with the professional function.<\/p>\n<p>When a request, search, or seizure may encompass protected materials, it is advisable to identify and segregate privileged documentation, make a precise record of the objection, preserve copies and inventories, and request judicial review when appropriate. The specific strategy will depend on the proceeding, the client&#8217;s procedural status, and the content of the material.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, paragraph 3 of Article 345 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that the parties are not required to disclose personal notes, files, or documents forming part of the preparatory work on the case.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">What rights do companies and individuals have in relation to privacy or data protection in the context of a financial crime investigation?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Natural persons have rights to privacy, habeas data, due process, and the inviolability of communications, subject to the constitutional and statutory limitations inherent in an investigation. Companies may also invoke guarantees of due process, inviolability of corporate premises, business confidentiality, and protection of information subject to legal confidentiality, although personal data protection is primarily focused on the holders of personal data.<\/p>\n<p>Access in criminal proceedings to confidential or restricted information must comply with legal requirements and, where applicable, judicial authorization or review. A selective search of databases involving access to confidential information is subject to prior judicial authorization and subsequent review. However, it is not correct to state that every production of information to the Office of the Attorney General always requires a prior judicial order. Voluntary production, public information, documents not subject to confidentiality, information obtained through validly ordered proceedings, and data protected by constitutional or statutory confidentiality must be distinguished.<\/p>\n<p>Administrative supervisory authorities, within their powers, may require books, papers, records, and corporate information. The powers of the Superintendence of Companies and the Financial Superintendence are exercised with respect for due process and applicable confidentiality rules, but are not excluded merely by invoking privacy or data protection. If possible crimes are detected in the exercise of those functions, the information must be referred to the competent authorities (Office of the Attorney General) in accordance with the law.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, if before notification the Office of the Attorney General becomes aware that the administrative entity has information that may be relevant to the case, it may order an inspection of those administrative proceedings and thereby access the documents contained in them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Is there a doctrine of successor criminal liability? For instance in mergers and acquisitions?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>As a general rule, there is no ordinary corporate criminal liability that transfers to a successor solely because of a merger, spin-off, or acquisition of control. The criminal liability of natural persons is individual and requires personal culpability; therefore, a corporate reorganization does not make an acquirer or successor the perpetrator of past crimes committed by third parties.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, it would be incomplete to conclude that an M&amp;A transaction has no effects with respect to sanctioning contingencies. Article 6 of Law 1778 of 2016 expressly governs the continuity of administrative sanctions for transnational bribery in cases of merger, spin-off, and transfer of control. In addition, the existence and quality of due diligence conducted before an acquisition may be relevant in determining the administrative sanction. Risks of asset forfeiture, regulatory contingencies, contractual effects, civil liabilities, and any subsequent knowledge or participation by acquirers must also be assessed.<\/p>\n<p>In an acquisition, due diligence should cover ultimate beneficial owners, third-party integrity, unusual payments, litigation and crime reports, internal reports, tax and customs compliance, anti-corruption controls, money-laundering alerts, assets subject to precautionary measures, and the actual effectiveness of compliance programs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">What factors must prosecuting authorities consider when deciding whether to charge?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Each assigned prosecutor of the Office of the Attorney General has autonomy to decide whether to prosecute, and that decision will depend on the conclusions drawn from analysis of the evidentiary materials. In other words, there is no list of criteria that dictates the decision; rather, it is governed by evidentiary sufficiency thresholds.<\/p>\n<p>Under Article 336 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Office of the Attorney General must file an indictment when the evidentiary materials support, to a probability of truth, both the existence of the offense and that the person under investigation committed it as a perpetrator or participant. On this concept, the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, as the court of last resort for the ordinary criminal jurisdiction, stated as follows:<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe determination of this standard constitutes an important criminal-policy decision, whose complexity concerns the point of balance that must be maintained between the effectiveness of the administration of justice and the protection of the rights of the person subject to proceedings that may be affected by the act of indictment, as well as the interests of victims and other constitutionally relevant aspects that are likewise placed at risk by improper use of this State function. This issue will be revisited below.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In this regard, the Chamber has emphasized that the epistemic model established in Law 906 of 2004 is designed so that the decision on whether formal charging or indictment is appropriate results from the proper delimitation of the factual hypotheses, the design and execution of a methodological program aimed at confirming or rejecting them and, finally, the analysis of whether the standard established by the legislature for this type of decision has been met (CSJSP, 23 Nov. 2017, Rad. 45899, among others).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In other words, the evidentiary sufficiency threshold is met when the prosecution hypothesis has a solid factual and legal basis for being taken to trial. Mere suspicion or the possibility that the conduct was committed is insufficient to support an indictment.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to indict must be distinguished from formal charging and from conviction. The indictment defines the dispute that will be taken to trial; a conviction requires a higher standard, based on evidence introduced and challenged at the oral trial. When grounds for indictment are not established or a statutory ground for dismissal applies, the Office of the Attorney General must proceed in accordance with the applicable rules.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">What is the evidential standard required to secure conviction?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>The degree of conviction the judge must reach to issue a conviction is a heightened one, but it does not require absolute certainty that the offense was committed. Under Colombian law, the standard the judge must reach is knowledge beyond a reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Articles 7, 372, and 381 of the Code of Criminal Procedure<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\"><sup>[1]<\/sup><\/a> establish that sufficiency threshold, consistent with the principle of <em>in dubio pro reo <\/em>enshrined in Article 29 of the Constitution, such that when the prosecution theory does not eliminate hypotheses compatible with the presumption of innocence, the judge must acquit.<\/p>\n<p>The finding must be based on evidence lawfully obtained, introduced, and challenged at trial, under the rules of publicity, adversarial testing, immediacy, and concentration. A conviction may not rest exclusively on hearsay evidence. If a reasonable hypothesis consistent with innocence remains, or if the prosecution fails to prove any essential element of the offense or participation, an acquittal is required.<a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Is there a statute of limitations for criminal matters? If so, are there any exceptions?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Yes. As a general rule, the criminal action is time-barred after a period equal to the maximum custodial sentence provided for the offense, which may not be less than five years or more than twenty, subject to statutory exceptions. Article 83 of the Criminal Code provides special rules (they amplify the term) for specified offenses and for conduct involving public servants, private individuals exercising public functions, withholding agents or tax collectors, as well as for conduct initiated or completed abroad.<\/p>\n<p>Formal charging interrupts the statute of limitations. From that point, a new period runs equal to half of the period provided in Article 83, subject to statutory minimum and maximum limits. Specific rules apply to abbreviated criminal proceedings and to suspension associated with application of the principle of opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>The calculation should not be made in the abstract. It requires identifying the precise offense, the penalty in force on the date of the facts, reforms applicable under the principle of favorability, the manner of execution or completion, the existence of concurrent offenses, the status of the person involved, and each procedural act affecting the calculation. A distinction must also be made between limitation of the criminal action and limitation of the criminal sanction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Are there any mechanisms commonly used to resolve financial crime issues falling short of a prosecution? (E.g. Deferred prosecution agreements, non-prosecution agreements, civil recovery orders, etc.) If yes, what factors are relevant and what approvals are required by the court?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Colombian law provides mechanisms that may prevent, suspend, or terminate criminal prosecution, but their availability depends on the offense, procedural stage, victim, harm, prior record, cooperation, and statutory prohibitions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Full reparation to the victim<\/strong> may extinguish the criminal action only in circumstances expressly provided by law; it is not a mechanism applicable to every type of financial crime. The offense, whether the conduct requires a private complaint or is property-related, the existence of identified victims, and restrictions introduced by legislative reforms must be verified.<\/p>\n<p>The<strong> principle of opportunity<\/strong> (<em>principio de oportunidad<\/em>) permits the suspension, interruption, or waiver of criminal prosecution on the exhaustive grounds set out in Article 324 of Law 906 of 2004, some of them associated to collaboration with justice and testifying against others. It requires a legality review by the Guarantees Judge and does not apply to categories of offenses excluded by law. Relevant factors include, among others, harmfulness, reparation, effective cooperation, proportionality of prosecution, and compliance with imposed conditions.<\/p>\n<p>A case may be <strong>archived <\/strong>by decision of the Attorney General Office, subject to its statutory requirements, when there are no factual grounds or circumstances allowing the facts to be characterized as a crime; this is not equivalent to a final judicial determination of innocence. <strong>Dismissal<\/strong>, by contrast, requires a judicial decision based on a statutory ground and may occur before or after the indictment depending on the ground and the party with standing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Plea agreements<\/strong> normally avoid a full trial, but they do not eliminate criminal liability: they conclude with a judgment based on the judicially approved agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, with respect to asset recovery, in Colombia it is handled through a proceeding known as \u201casset forfeiture,\u201d (<em>extinci\u00f3n de dominio<\/em>) which is an autonomous institution independent of the criminal proceeding, although it is sought and pursued by the Office of the Attorney General before specialized criminal circuit judges.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Is there a mechanism for plea bargaining?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Yes. Articles 348 et seq. of Law 906 of 2004 govern plea agreements and negotiations between the Office of the Attorney General and the formally charged person or accused. They are bilateral agreements that may concern acceptance of responsibility, legal classification, removal of aggravating circumstances, or granting of sentencing benefits within statutory and jurisprudential limits.<\/p>\n<p>The agreement must comply with legality, voluntariness, sufficient information, respect for fundamental guarantees, and victims&#8217; rights. The judge exercises judicial review and may not approve stipulations that disregard mandatory rules, violate guarantees, or lack factual and legal support.<\/p>\n<p>When the conduct has resulted in an increase in assets, the statutory requirements for restitution and securing the balance must be reviewed before benefits are granted. Application of that rule requires identification of the offense, date of the facts, type of negotiation, and reforms in force. A plea agreement does not guarantee an identical outcome in every case: the strategy must assess the evidence, sentencing exposure, reparation, ancillary consequences, and impact on administrative or asset-related investigations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Is there any obligation to disclose discovered misconduct to prosecuting authorities, or any benefit to making a voluntary disclosure?  Is there an established route or official guidance for making such disclosures?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Article 67 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that every person has a duty to report facts that may constitute criminal offenses. This rule is directly rooted in paragraph 7 of Article 95 of the Constitution, which establishes as a duty of every citizen the obligation to cooperate in the proper functioning of the administration of justice.<\/p>\n<p>Failure by private individuals to comply with this duty does not, per se, give rise to an adverse consequence, unless the omission concerns the offenses listed in Article 441 of the Criminal Code, such as \u201cgenocide, forced displacement, torture, enforced disappearance, homicide, kidnapping, extortive kidnapping or extortion, drug trafficking, trafficking in drugs, narcotics or psychotropic substances, terrorism, terrorist financing and administration of resources related to terrorist activities, illicit enrichment, use of front persons, money laundering, any of the offenses set out in Title II [offenses against persons and property protected by IHL] and Chapter IV of Title IV of this book [sexual exploitation], in the latter case when the victim is a minor.\u201d With respect to those offenses, Article 441 ibid. provides for imprisonment from three (3) to eight (8) years. Otherwise, as reiterated, no consequence arises.<\/p>\n<p>The situation is different for public servants, because Article 67 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that they must conduct the investigation, when competent, or inform the competent authority when they become aware of a crime. Failure to comply with this obligation may constitute the offense of abuse of authority by failure to report, set forth in Article 417 of the Criminal Code. Unlike the offense of failure by a private individual to report (Art. 441 Criminal Code), this offense does not contain an exhaustive list for its commission; it requires only that the crime be prosecutable ex officio, that is, that it not require a private complaint as a procedural prerequisite.<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, regardless of the person&#8217;s status -private individual or public servant- the duty is subject to limits such as the guarantee against self-incrimination, its extension to the family circle, and professional secrecy.<\/p>\n<p>By virtue of their office, the legal system imposed specific obligations on statutory auditors, and their regulation modifies what was described above for private individuals. On the one hand, under Article 57 of Law 2195 of 2022, statutory auditors are required to report \u201cacts of corruption as well as the suspected commission of an offense against public administration, the environment, the economic and social order, terrorist financing and financing of organized criminal groups and administration of resources related to terrorist activities and organized crime, those set forth in Law 1474 of 2011 [private corruption, disloyal administration, misuse of privileged information, speculation in medicines and medical devices, tax evasion, failure to exercise control in the health sector, subsidy fraud, restrictive competition agreements and influence peddling by a private individual] or any criminal offense related to public economic assets that they have detected in the exercise of their office.\u201d In these cases, the rule provides that the professional secrecy regime protecting statutory auditors does not apply.<\/p>\n<p>Second, paragraph 10 of Article 207 establishes the obligation of statutory auditors to report immediately and sufficiently to the Financial Information and Analysis Unit -UIAF- activities classified as suspicious under paragraph d), subparagraph 2 of Article 102 of the Organic Statute of the Financial System: \u201cany relevant information regarding the handling of assets or liabilities or other resources whose amount or characteristics bear no relation to the economic activity of their clients, or regarding transactions of their users that, because of their number, the amounts transacted, or their particular characteristics, may reasonably lead to suspicion that such persons are using the entity to transfer, manage, use, or invest money or resources derived from criminal activities or intended for their financing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This report must be made through the Online Reporting System -SIREL- application, after the statutory auditor has registered with the UIAF.<\/p>\n<p>With respect to benefits arising from voluntary disclosure, Article 19 of Law 1778 of 2016 provides that the Superintendence of Companies may grant total or partial exemption from sanctions to those who participated in conduct relating to transnational bribery.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">What rules or guidelines determine sentencing? Are there any leniency or discount policies? If so, how are these applied?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Sentencing is governed, among other provisions, by Article 61 of the Criminal Code and by the quarter system. The judge initially establishes the minimum and maximum limits of the applicable sentence and determines the applicable quarter according to the presence of circumstances of lesser or greater punishment provided by law. Within the resulting range, the decision must be reasoned with regard to the seriousness of the conduct, the harm or danger caused, the intensity of intent or negligence where negligence is punishable, the form of participation, and legally relevant personal circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>Sentence reductions may arise from a guilty plea or acceptance of charges, plea agreements, effective cooperation in the circumstances provided by law, and the principle of opportunity. Percentages, procedural stages, and restrictions are not uniform: they depend on the date of the facts, the rules in force, the offense, the stage at which responsibility is accepted, and express prohibitions. Therefore, any calculation must be made for the specific case and under the rules applicable at the relevant time.<\/p>\n<p>Alternative sentencing mechanisms and substitutes -for example, suspended execution of sentence, house arrest, or conditional release- are different from sentence reductions. Their availability depends on objective and subjective requirements, statutory exclusions, and the convicted person&#8217;s conduct. For certain financial crimes, such as money laundering, transnational bribery, illicit enrichment, or some tax and customs offenses, significant restrictions may apply and must be reviewed specifically in light of the seriousness of those offenses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">How are compliance procedures evaluated by the prosecuting authorities and how can businesses best protect themselves?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Compliance programs do not automatically eliminate the criminal liability of a natural person or make a company immune from investigations. However, they may be relevant evidence in determining whether administrators, officers, compliance officers, or statutory auditors fulfilled their duties of control, prevention, escalation, and response to identified risks.<\/p>\n<p>Under the administrative regime of Law 2195 of 2022, the application of risk controls is relevant in determining whether the legal entity consented to or tolerated the conduct. Likewise, the existence, implementation, and effectiveness of transparency and business ethics programs may affect the determination of sanctions. In transnational bribery matters, Law 1778 also treats the effectiveness of such programs and due diligence in reorganization or acquisition processes as criteria for determining sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>An effective program must be proportionate to risk and demonstrable in practice. It usually requires periodic risk assessments; verifiable commitment by senior management; rules governing interaction with third parties and public officials; due diligence on partners, suppliers, and intermediaries; accounting and payment controls; a reporting channel; protection against retaliation; training; independent internal investigations; preservation of evidence; disciplinary and corrective measures; monitoring; and documented updating. The company must verify the applicable sector-specific regime, including PTEE, SAGRILAFT, or other required systems.<\/p>\n<p>In criminal matters, offenses based on negligence are governed by a numerus clausus system, which means that offenses that may arise in connection with or during the ordinary course of business do not have a negligent counterpart. Thus, mere negligence does not, by itself, give rise to criminal liability.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, under Article 25 of the Criminal Code, the discussion may move into the realm of omission, where the analysis concerns the agent&#8217;s ability to prevent the result, where the agent had a legal duty to do so and was in a position to prevent it. In this context, compliance programs become relevant because they assign each body or person specific duties in relation to each risk factor, thereby defining the scope of their responsibilities -the legal duty that could be required of them- and strengthening the principle of legitimate reliance as a normative criterion that negates objective attribution.<\/p>\n<p>In asset forfeiture proceedings, the Office of the Attorney General pursues all assets acquired unlawfully or used in unlawful activities, regardless of who holds title to them. Third-party owners must establish qualified good faith -or good faith free from fault- to oppose the request of the investigating authority, so compliance programs play an essential role in demonstrating the diligence and steps taken before acquisition of the property.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">What penalties do the courts typically impose on individuals and corporates in relation to the key offences listed at Q1?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>For natural persons, sanctions depend on the particular offense and the circumstances of the case. They may include imprisonment, fines, disqualification from exercising public rights and functions, disqualification from contracting with the State where an applicable provision exists, loss of public employment or office, confiscation of assets, and full compensation for damages. Financial crimes may also involve precautionary measures over assets, restrictions affecting assets, and restitution obligations. The sentence is individualized in accordance with the rules of the Criminal Code, the form of participation, aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and any applicable early-termination mechanisms.<\/p>\n<p>For legal entities, there is no ordinary criminal punishment equivalent to that imposed on natural persons. However, significant consequences may be imposed. Under Article 91 of Law 906 of 2004, a judge may order suspension of legal personality or temporary closure of establishments where there are reasonable grounds to believe they have been used wholly or partially for criminal activities.<\/p>\n<p>Law 2195 of 2022 allows one or more administrative sanctions to be imposed on legal entities and branches domiciled in Colombia when its requirements are met: fines of up to 200,000 current monthly legal minimum wages, increased by the greater of the benefit obtained or sought; disqualification from contracting; publication of the sanctioning decision; prohibition from receiving Government incentives or subsidies; and removal of administrators, officers, or employees who were involved, convicted, or who tolerated the conduct.<\/p>\n<p>For transnational bribery, Law 1778 of 2016 establishes a special administrative regime administered by the Superintendence of Companies, with fines, disqualification from contracting with the State, publication of the sanction, prohibition from receiving incentives or subsidies, registration in official records, and other consequences provided by law. In addition, assets that are the proceeds, instrument, object, or intended destination of unlawful activities may be subject to confiscation or to the autonomous asset forfeiture action under Law 1708 of 2014.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">What rights of appeal are there?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>In general, Colombian law classifies remedies as ordinary and extraordinary, and their availability depends on the type of judicial ruling, which is divided into orders and judgments. Orders are decisions that do not address a person&#8217;s criminal liability, such as those recognizing victim status and those deciding which evidence will be presented at trial. Judgments, by contrast, concern only the criminal liability of the accused.<\/p>\n<p>Having said that, it is necessary to address the classification of remedies:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ordinary remedies (Arts. 176 and 179B Code of Criminal Procedure): these consist of reconsideration, appeal, and complaint. Reconsideration is decided by the same judge who issued the ruling and may be filed against all rulings except the one deciding the accused&#8217;s criminal liability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>An appeal is heard by the functional superior of the court that issued the decision, except when the appeal is against a judgment, in which case it is heard by the corresponding Superior Court of the Judicial District.<\/p>\n<p>For officeholders subject to special jurisdiction where the Judicial District Courts have jurisdiction, the second-instance court is the Criminal Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.<\/p>\n<p>One point should be clarified. In Colombia, an acquittal may be appealed by the Office of the Attorney General, by the victims, or by both. Accordingly, a conviction may be entered for the first time on second instance. In that event, the defendant is entitled to double conformity -the functional superior of the authority that issued the first conviction must review the ruling-.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Article 179B of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides for the complaint remedy, which is available when an appeal is denied.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Extraordinary remedies (Arts. 180 and 192 Code of Criminal Procedure): these are cassation and extraordinary review. Because both are extraordinary remedies, they are available only on specific grounds described in the Code of Criminal Procedure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The extraordinary remedy of cassation is available (Art. 181 Code of Criminal Procedure) against second-instance judgments when fundamental guarantees are affected by: i) failure to apply, erroneous interpretation, or improper application of a rule belonging to the constitutional block, the Constitution, or statute; ii) violation of due process through substantial impairment of its structure; iii) disregard of the rules governing the production and assessment of the evidence on which the judgment was based.<\/p>\n<p>The extraordinary remedy of review, in turn, is available against final judgments when: i) two (2) or more persons have been convicted of the same offense that could only have been committed by one or by fewer persons than those convicted; ii) a person was convicted of an offense for which the criminal action was already time-barred or the procedural prerequisite of a private complaint or special request was not satisfied; iii) new facts appear or previously unknown evidence emerges establishing the convicted person&#8217;s innocence; iv) an international human rights body whose jurisdiction Colombia has accepted issues a decision finding that the State failed in its duty to investigate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law; v) a final decision establishes that the judgment was determined by a crime committed by the judge or a third party; vi) it is established that the decision was based on false evidence; vii) the Supreme Court of Justice has changed, in a manner favorable to the convicted person, the legal criterion on which the decision was based.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">How active are the authorities in tackling financial crime? How long do proceedings typically take?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Financial crime enforcement is active, but the timing and depth of investigations vary significantly depending on complexity, amount involved, number of persons under investigation, transnational dimension, availability of digital and accounting evidence, need for international cooperation, court congestion, and the technical capacity of the entities involved, as well as the victim&#8217;s activity before the Office of the Attorney General.<\/p>\n<p>A preliminary inquiry may end early through archiving; a simple investigation may be resolved within relatively limited periods; and a case involving financial expert evidence, multiple victims, assets abroad, or asset forfeiture measures may continue for several years, including trial and appeals.<\/p>\n<p>Accordingly, there is no uniform timeframe, and defense planning must take into account the investigation, trial stage, appeals, parallel administrative proceedings, and asset-related actions.<\/p>\n<p>That said, Colombia&#8217;s criminal justice system is congested. According to the justice indicators of Corporaci\u00f3n Excelencia en la Justicia, there are currently four million two hundred eighty-eight thousand six hundred twenty-three (4,288,623) active crime reports, representing only 19.5% of the total; the remainder are inactive. Of those, three million eight hundred eighty-four thousand five hundred forty-two (3,884,542) are at the preliminary inquiry stage, sixty-four thousand three hundred ninety (64,390) at the investigation stage, and only three hundred twenty-nine thousand one hundred thirty-three (329,133) at the trial stage. In the criminal jurisdiction, according to the same organization, 2025 closed with a congestion rate of 42.9%.<\/p>\n<p>In practical terms, this means that the investigation stage of a case without significant complexity lasts approximately two (2) years. The time required for trial and any appeals that may be filed must be added to this period, making the proceeding considerably longer.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">In the last 5 years, have you seen any trends or focus on particular types of offences, sectors and\/or industries?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Generally, financial investigations tend to focus on foreign trade operations, allegedly fictitious invoicing, corporate structures used to conceal ultimate beneficial owners, corruption in public procurement, diversion of corporate resources, money laundering, smuggling, tax offenses, and financial movements involving foreign jurisdictions. The relevance of each trend must be adjusted to the sector and should not be presented as a universal pattern.<\/p>\n<p>The increase in digital evidence is also relevant: electronic communications, platform records, payment traceability, foreign trade data, ultimate beneficial ownership information, and due diligence documentation. For companies, this increases the importance of document-retention policies, record integrity, and coordinated responses to requests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Have there been any landmark or notable cases, investigations or developments in the past year?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Some cases that may be considered landmark cases.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A. Panama Papers in Colombia &#8211; Efecty and Servientrega<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>According to the Office of the Attorney General, between 2010 and 2016 Mossack Fonseca&#8217;s office in Colombia offered a financial and corporate structure whose purpose was the sale of false invoices to Colombian companies by companies incorporated abroad. According to the prosecuting authority, these companies were shell companies controlled by Mossack Fonseca, with which Colombian companies entered into contracts for services that were never provided.<\/p>\n<p>As a result of these facts, the legal representatives of the companies, the statutory auditor, and even the legal representative of the law firm in Colombia were prosecuted. The offenses charged were: document forgery, fraud, criminal conspiracy, money laundering, illicit enrichment by a private individual, procedural fraud, and disloyal administration.<\/p>\n<p>On June 30, 2023, a specialized judge acquitted the defendants of certain offenses and declared the statute of limitations expired as to others. This decision was affirmed on second instance by the Superior Court of the Judicial District of Bogot\u00e1, and the appeal in cassation filed in the case is currently pending decision by the Supreme Court of Justice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>B. LiliPink Case<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Lili Pink case is a judicial investigation led by the Office of the Attorney General and the DIAN in Colombia into an alleged money-laundering scheme and technical smuggling of goods originating in Asia. The operations have resulted in the seizure of numerous commercial assets for purposes of asset forfeiture, while the defense of the company&#8217;s officers and shareholders has challenged the precautionary measures and is preparing claims based on alleged irregularities in the proceeding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Are there any pending or proposed changes to the legal, regulatory and\/or enforcement framework?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Justice reforms have been a constant feature of successive administrations, aimed at addressing problems such as court congestion and impunity. The new administration has outlined an intention to propose a justice reform, particularly in criminal procedure. The proposal presented to date would restructure the investigation and indictment phase of ordinary criminal proceedings. Its principal change is that the<\/p>\n<p>formal charging hearing would cease to be a mandatory prerequisite for indictment. Instead, the Office of the Attorney General could file the indictment directly when it has met the legally required probability-of-truth standard.<\/p>\n<p>Formal charging would be retained, under the functional name of an early-termination hearing, for cases in which a guilty plea, a plea agreement, application of the principle of opportunity, or a restorative resolution based on full reparation is sought.<\/p>\n<p>The second central change is the assignment to the guarantees judge of the indictment hearing and of substantive review over the formal charge and the indictment. The trial judge would intervene later, upon assignment, for the preparatory hearing and the oral trial.<\/p>\n<p>Although criminal liability of legal entities remains a subject of discussion in various forums, particularly academic ones, it is likely that the government will not prioritize the issue and that the discussion will move to the background.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"question-block filter-container__element\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"filter-container__match-html\">Are there any gaps or areas for improvement in the financial crime legal framework?<\/h3>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button id=\"show-me\">+<\/button>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"question_answer filter-container__match-html\" style=\"display:none;\"><p>Areas that commonly generate discussion include technical capacity to analyze complex financial structures and digital evidence; coordination among the Office of the Attorney General, administrative authorities, and financial intelligence bodies; international cooperation timelines; traceability of ultimate beneficial owners and assets; asset recovery; the quality of accounting and expert evidence; consistency among criminal, administrative, and asset-related sanctions; and the effectiveness of compliance programs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n<div class=\"word-count-hidden\" style=\"display:none;\">Estimated word count: <span class=\"word-count\">9949<\/span><\/div>\r\n\r\n\t\t\t<\/ol>\r\n\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/wp-content\/themes\/twentyseventeen\/src\/jquery\/components\/filter-guides.js\" async><\/script><\/div>"}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legal500.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comparative_guide\/150240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legal500.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comparative_guide"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legal500.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/comparative_guide"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.legal500.com\/guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}