Attorney Authored
The European, Middle Eastern and African Investigations Review 2016 - Italy
July 12, 2016
By Bruno Cova & Francesca Petronio
Corporate internal investigations were almost unheard of in Italy until the adoption of Legislative Decree No. 231 of 8 June 2001 (Decree 231), which introduced the ‘quasi-criminal’ liability of corporations for certain crimes committed in their interest or to their advantage by their directors, managers, employees or agents. A company can, however, avoid such liability if it has adopted and implemented an effective compliance programme (or ‘organisational model’) for the prevention of the relevant crime.
Following the implementation of Decree 231 various criminal proceedings were brought against Italian and foreign companies. Gradually, many companies, especially those belonging to multinational groups, adopted an organisational model according to Decree 231 and started conducting internal investigations as an instrument of risk management.
This is the Italy chapter of The European, Middle Eastern and African Investigations Review 2016, published by Global Investigations Review - http://globalinvestigationsreview.com/edition/1000144/the-european-middle-eastern-and-african-investigations-review-2016