Criminal compliance in Spain

What is a Criminal Compliance Programme?

A Criminal Compliance Programme is a tailor-made plan that seeks to identify situations that generate a risk of commission of criminal offenses and to prevent the commission of such criminal offenses both by the company itself and by its individual members.

The four steps for implementing a Criminal Compliance Programme

The first step is to carry out a Due Diligence of the company from a criminal perspective to identify and evaluate the situations or areas where the risk of commission of criminal offenses is potentially higher.

The second step is to adopt measures to amend any identified organisation’s defaults and to establish policies governing the behaviour of the members of the company (through a high-policy document - the Ethical Code - complemented by specific-policy documents - Protocols and Procedures).

The third step is to inform all the members of the company of those regulations and of their obligation to abide by them.

The fourth step is to appoint a criminal compliance officer with the authority and resources to ensure that the Criminal Compliance Programme is fulfilled and kept updated.

Is it compulsory to implement a Criminal Compliance Programme?

Currently no legal provision enforces its implementation. However, if a criminal offense is committed, both the company and its directors might be held liable if the Court concludes that the criminal offense could have been prevented if a Criminal Compliance Programme had been implemented.