You can hear a lot of stories where the debtor "escaped
with the money", the construction contractor
"disappeared" or the debtor company's assets have
been hidden. Essentially, failure to pay is a breach of contract,
which is subject to civil action, eg. litigation. However, if a
transaction is suspected to be a scam, criminal proceedings may be
brought against the defaulting debtor, for example, for fraud,
which we examine in this article.
Difference between civil law claim and criminal liability
In the public mind, civil law and criminal law often get mixed
up, and the creditors want to see their debtors in prison. In
principle, the non-performance of a loan or business contract is
basically a civil law matter, and the claimant may demand
performance or compensation through a civil action (such as
litigation).
