Page 25 - CORRUPTION LATAM

MONTT GROUP MAGAZINE - 2024
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entity if convicted, Law No. 20,393 contemplates the following range of sanctioning measures:
• Dissolution of the legal entity;
• Disqualification, temporary or perpetual, to
celebrate acts and contracts with the State;
• Partial or total loss of tax benefits or absolute prohibition of receiving them, for a
certain period;
• Tax benefit fine (up to 300,000 UTM,
equivalent to US4 21,000,000).
As accessory penalties, the Law contemplates i) the publication of an extract of the conviction and ii) confiscation.
II Application of Law No. 20,393
From 2009 to date, it is possible to point out that several companies have been charged, as a legal entity, with the commission of a crime by one of their members. Although some have been subject – in the criminal proceedings against them – to an alternative solution, such as the conditional suspension of the procedure, the courts have condemned companies for not complying with their management and supervision duties, as they have organized in a defective manner to prevent crimes.
To date, the most relevant case that has occurred in Chile in which Law No. 20,393 has been applied and, consequently, a legal entity has been convicted for its criminal responsibility, was the trial against an important company in the sector. industrial fishing. In 2021, this company was convicted, as a legal entity, for the crime of bribery of a public official. The crime was committed by the General Manager of the entity, who paid bribes to parliamentarians of the Republic of Chile, between 2009 and 2013, to favor his company while the new Fisheries and Aquaculture Law was being processed.
The ruling condemned the company to pay a tax-benefit fine of 10,000 UTM (approximately USD$520,000) and to publish an extract of the final part of the conviction in a national newspaper. What is relevant about this case is that although
the company had a document called “Crime Prevention Model”, this instrument had no practical application within the organization. In this way, this “paper” model did not comply with the standard established in the Law, which is evidenced by the text of the conviction, indicating that the company did not have internal controls to prevent crimes and, therefore, there was a defect. of organization in it as it has not effectively self-regulated for these purposes.
to date, the most reLevant case that has occurred in chiLe in Which LaW no. 20,393 has been appLied and, consequentLy, a LegaL entity has been convicted for its criminaL responsibiLity, Was the triaL against an important company in the sector. industriaL fishing. in 2021, this company Was convicted, as a LegaL entity, for the crime of bribery of a pubLic officiaL. the crime Was committed by the generaL manager of the entity, Who paid bribes to parLiamentarians of the repubLic of chiLe, betWeen 2009 and 2013, to favour his company WhiLe the neW fisheries and aquacuLture LaW Was being processed.
iii Modifications introduced to Law no 20,393 due to the promulgation of the economic crimes Law Law no 21,595 on Economic Crimes, published in the Official Gazette on August 17th, 2023, established a new statute for economic crimes in Chile and caused profound modifications in various regulatory bodies, among which is Law no 20,393.
Among the main reforms introduced by the aforementioned regulations to Law no 20,393, the following stand out:
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It expands the scope of application of Law No. 20,393, adding State universities, political parties and religious legal entities under public law as recipients of the regulation.
It substantially increases, to more than 200 criminal figures, the catalog of crimes
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