In each jurisdiction, we have observed a trend of increased
focus on holding individuals criminally responsible for corporate
misconduct.
In part I of this
two-part series, we provided a brief overview of the state of
play of the criminal enforcement risks for compliance officers as
well as some of the implications—both practical and
legal—for companies and their compliance departments in the
United States, France and the the Netherlands. We discussed that
these three jurisdictions have no specific regime for holding
compliance officers criminally liable for offenses committed on
their watch. In part II, which will focus on recent trends in the
United Kingdom, Germany and Ukraine, it will become clear that
compliance officers are more and more likely to find themselves in
the front line—if not as a suspect, then as key witnesses to
assessing the company's compliance program as well as in
relation to the (potential) criminal conduct. We will finish off
with takeaways
