{"id":2794,"date":"2015-05-06T16:32:21","date_gmt":"2015-05-06T13:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bicakhukuk.com\/bicak-law\/field-of-activities\/ticari-ceza-hukuku\/"},"modified":"2023-11-06T00:10:34","modified_gmt":"2023-11-05T21:10:34","slug":"corporate-criminal-law","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bicakhukuk.com\/en\/pratice-areas\/corporate-criminal-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Corporate and Business Criminal Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Corporate criminal law, also known as \u201cbusiness crime\u201d or \u2018white collar crime\u2019, regulates the liability of legal persons (e.g. companies, associations, organizations). This area of law is concerned with crimes that are tolerated, facilitated or provoked in the course of the work of a company, association or organization. It is a group of nonviolent crimes committed by individuals in the course of their legitimate employment, for the benefit of their organization. Such individuals generally do not consider themselves as criminals, nor do they consider their activities to be criminal. Such crimes include fraud, health care fraud, tax fraud, business fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud, bribery, foreign and domestic curruption, money laundering, public corruption, false accounting, tax fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, cyber-crime, intellectual property infringement, customs violations, environmental crimes, racketeering, identity theft, and forgery etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming legally savvy is important no matter where you are in business. The word savvy basically means you have a practical understanding of how business and law really work. This is very important for business success and for success in your own personal career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Criminal liability of companies<\/span><\/h3>\n

In general, legal entities cannot be held criminally liable because according to the prevailing opinion in Turkey they are neither capable of acting nor culpable in the criminal law sense. Nonetheless, under Article 60 of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCC), companies must pay a fine if a manager, board of directors or other representative in a managerial function has committed a criminal or administrative offence within the framework of the activity exercised, as a result of which duties of the company have been violated, or where the company has been enriched or was intended to be enriched. In the sense of strict accessoriness, the elements of the offence, illegality and culpability must be given with regard to the underlying criminal offence. However, the identity of the specific offender does not need to be established.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover, Turkish civil law contains several provisions to hold corporate entities accountable. In cases where a fine has been imposed pursuant to Article 60 of TCC, claims under tort law are regularly considered. Claims for damages may arise in connection with the violation of a Debt Act. Accordingly, the actions (wrongful acts) of the company’s representatives are attributed to the company itself. In addition, an entity that entrusts another individual with the execution of an instruction is obliged to compensate for the damage that the other individual unlawfully causes to a third party in the execution thereof. The obligation to pay compensation for damage shall not apply if the employer has exercised due care in the selection of the person instructed and in the procurement or direction of the work. The provision shall also not apply if the damage would have occurred even if such care had been exercised.<\/span><\/p>\n

If the company had a contractual agreement with the injured party, contractual liability can also be considered under the relevant norms of the law of obligations. The conduct of the employee as a ‘vicarious agent’ is then attributed to the company.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Under Turkish law, companies can be held criminally liable for a list of criminal activities committed by their managers or employees in the interest or for the benefit of the company. The sanctions applicable to companies include fines, disqualification and confiscation of the proceeds of crimes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The list of predicate offenses is constantly updated and expanded. It currently covers a wide range of economic crimes such as corruption, tax fraud and fraud against the state, market manipulation and insider trading, false accounting, money laundering, trafficking stolen goods, health and safety offences, intellectual property offences, infringement of trademarks and environmental offences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Safeguards<\/span><\/h3>\n

Corporate liability has the nature of criminal liability, with the consequence that all the related principles and safeguards provided for by criminal law (ie, the personality of criminal liability) must be applied.<\/span><\/p>\n

The responsibility for investigating and prosecuting of crimes committed by a company lies with the ordinary prosecution authorities, in accordance with the rules of criminal procedures and within the framework of criminal proceedings under the jurisdiction of the criminal courts, which are usually combined with criminal proceedings against the managers or employees who committed the predicate offence.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Turkish legal system public prosecutors are responsible for investigating and prosecuting<\/a> all crimes, including economic crimes, committed by both individuals and companies. They are assisted by law enforcement agencies (police, jandermeria, coast guard, customs security).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Crimes & administrative offences & civil\u00a0 offences<\/span><\/h3>\n

Turkish law on economic crimes, administrative offences<\/a> and civil offences is not only complex, but also constantly evolving. Criminal investigations<\/a> are often conducted in parallel with civil or administrative proceedings<\/a>.\u00a0 Because decisions in one action can affect the others, it is imperative that these different prongs be led by counsel with experience in each of these types of proceedings.<\/span><\/p>\n

We understand the legal bureaucracy, how and with whom to work throughout the investigative process, and how and when to strongly advocate for our client’s position.\u00a0 We represent clients in a broad range of industries, including healthcare, financial services and brokerages, government contractors and public utilities, automotive and oil companies, airlines, high technology and e-commerce, life science and biotechnology, media and telecommunications, retail and apparel, real estate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Corporate crime victims<\/span><\/h3>\n

We also represent clients who are victim of corporate crime<\/a>.\u00a0 We guide them through the relevant investigative agencies and advocate for criminal prosecution, administrative investigation and restitution where appropriate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jurisdiction of Turkish courts<\/span><\/h3>\n

The main principle of governing the jurisdiction of Turkish courts, both for individuals and companies, is territoriality, which means that Turkish courts have jurisdiction over all crimes deemed to be or have been committed within the territory of Turkey.<\/span><\/p>\n

The principle of territoriality is interpreted in a broad sense and with a wide scope as it is sufficient that a portion of the prohibited conduct takes place in Turkey for it to be under Turkish jurisdiction. Therefore, foreign companies that have their registered office and principal place of business abroad can be subject to Turkish law and prosecuted in Turkey if at least a part of the offence committed by their managers or employees took place in Turkey and where if all other conditions for the company\u2019s liability are fulfilled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Preservation of corporate reputation<\/span><\/h3>\n

Due to the nature of white collar and civil fraud matters, it is critical that steps are taken to preserve the reputation of our clients in their dealings with shareholders, regulators, and the press, among others.\u00a0 A particular strenght of Bicak in this area is our ability to minimize potential negative publicity through swift action and strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our services cover crimes committed either by a corporation (i.e., a business entity with legal personality separate from the natural persons who direct its activities), or by individuals acting on behalf of a corporation or other business entity. For the most serious\u00a0 corporate crimes, corporations may face judicial dissolution, referred to as the “corporate death penalty”, which is a legal process whereby a corporation is forced to dissolve or cease to exist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Negative behaviour<\/span><\/h3>\n

Not all negative behaviours by companies may actually be criminal. Behaviour may be governed by civil law<\/a>, administrative law<\/a> or criminal law<\/a>. In deciding to sanction a particular behaviour, the legislator makes the political judgment that this behavior is sufficiently culpable to deserve the stigma of being labelled as a civil wrong, an administrative offence or a crime. In Turkish law, corporations can commit most illegal activities as natural persons.<\/span><\/p>\n

Categories of corporate crime<\/span><\/h3>\n