Jakub Znamierowski | In Principle

The newest episode of News from Poland is about who may be held liable for tax offences committed at a company. The issue is explained by Jakub Znamierowski, PhD, adwokat and senior associate in the firm's Criminal Law Practice.  

The newest episode of "News from Poland" is about dawn raids, that is unexpected visits from law enforcement. How to prepare for it and how to react? You will hear from Jakub Znamierowski, who represents clients in white-collar crime matters, leads internal investigations and specializes in corporate criminal liability.

On 2 September 2022, the Polish Ministry of Justice published a draft of far-reaching changes to the liability of collective entities, which would eliminate the requirement to obtain a predicate ruling for all criminal and fiscal offences for which collective entities could be held criminally liable. We discuss these changes in an updated version of our guide to corporate criminal liability in Poland.

It’s hard to explain to someone who has never been accused of a crime that they cannot use their own money, and this situation could last for months. Nonetheless, an institution exerting this effect functions under Polish law and can impact both individuals and companies.

It often happens that a creditor in a civil relationship is also harmed by the debtor’s action that may qualify as a crime. In such cases, in addition to pursuing claims through civil proceedings, the creditor can also take action against the debtor in criminal proceedings.

Every day, news outlets around the world report on corporate scandals and investigations, money laundering through shell companies in tax havens, arrests of executives, and multi-million-dollar settlements with prosecutors by big market players. Is this symptomatic of setbacks in the fight with corporate criminality, or is enforcement improving and uncovering more crime?

Fraud is a lurking underside of the pandemic, requiring vigilance and preventive measures.

Activity of law enforcement authorities concerning irregularities of a criminal nature can result in heavy losses to a company’s finances and image. Certain investigative and procedural measures (such as a search of corporate premises, seizing items or detaining people) can have a negative impact on the company’s business and reputation. The consequences can be even more serious if these measures lead to filing of allegations, indictment and conviction of high-ranking company officials. This is yet another argument for maintaining an effective compliance programme.

During criminal proceedings there is a risk that a search will be conducted. Who can search premises and on what basis? Who can be present during the search? At what time of day can a search be held? What happens with items discovered in the search? And is there any appeal against the conduct of a search?

A gap in legal provisions might mean criminal liability for management board members for not filing financial statements on time.

As of 2016, the limit for cash transactions is EUR 15,000, and there is no tax sanction for violating this limit. All of this will change from 1 January 2017.

Numerous major changes have entered into force in Poland in recent months in the area of criminal procedure, surveillance of citizens, and how the prosecution system is run.