To avoid criminal prosecutions in your company you must keep an eye on the organizational model that is being implemented. This means that adjusting the organizational structure with manuals, codes of ethics and other types of mechanisms can mitigate the risks associated with criminal activities by employees. Remember that criminal liability is shared by employees and the company, so it is necessary that they work together to reduce the risks of non-compliance or criminal acts in daily operations. In that sense, in this article we will explain how to avoid and mitigate criminal offenses in your company.

-To attend crime prevention counseling sessions and train personnel in crime prevention.

The criminal liability of companies goes hand in hand with the prevention plan implemented in the organization. That is why it is important to turn to expert lawyers in the prevention of risks and criminal offenses in the industry where the company operates. This type of advice ensures that the boards of directors of companies have the basic knowledge of what are the most common risks in their operations. And they can be applied in the initial diagnostic phase, where lawyers must analyze together with other specialists what are the weaknesses of the organization.

Once the diagnosis has been completed, all the company's personnel should be trained with these contents, since this is the only way in which they can become more aware of the responsibilities they have as members of the organization. In addition, the correct training will allow the company's legal team to obtain more information about the company's operational reality. So this strategy can be applied even in the diagnostic stage, since through participatory dynamics employees can communicate their concerns or identify bad practices that may be developing in the activities.

-Establish a company code of conduct and ethics to control the work environment.

Once the diagnosis of the company has been carried out, it is necessary to establish measures that can guide the work environment. In other words, we can apply codes of conductclothing, ethics or other types of manuals that establish how relations between workers should be. Although they seem to be control measures, they are mechanisms that help to channel the work environment. At the same time, they reaffirm the values on which the organization is based, which is why it is important to carry out this type of activities, since it is possible to identify the behaviors of each employee and understand which ones are not aligned with the company.

To make these codes more effective and avoid criminal prosecution, they can be built with the help of the workers themselves. In this way, they will have more impact and it will be much easier to identify undesirable behavior in the same space.

-Applying criminal compliance as a protective shield for the companies.

After training personnel, the company's legal department in conjunction with counsel must establish which compliance program to implement. While there are many types of programs, the criminal compliance is essential to prevent fraud and criminal proceedings within the organization. Because it ensures that the daily activities of the company are aligned with national and international legislation where it operates.

That is why this type of compliance is not only based on legal norms, because it adopts the sectorial regulations in which each activity of the company is adjusted. Because its purpose is to reduce the defects that the organization may have, while establishing recurrent analysis and controls that mitigate criminality and other situations.

-Avoid and resolve situations where there are conflicts of interest on the part of partners and investors.

Another of the measures that must be applied to avoid criminal proceedings against a company is to resolve conflicts of interest that partners and investors may have. This is the responsibility of the board of directors, and is done through meetings and agreements in which all persons involved in the decision making process must be aware of and in agreement with them. One way to apply this strategy is through negotiations or the signing of extraordinary agreements where everyone involved benefits without negatively affecting the company.

Therefore, any handling of capital or other non-recurring movements must be regulated by a series of mechanisms that guarantee these agreements. In other words, if cash movements are required that are not contemplated in the normal activities of the company. The method of approval must be designed and who will be in charge of approving such movements. This type of rules ensures that certain business units have this information on record, in case there is any kind of irregularity or need to be discussed in the future.

-Design a manual that establishes sanctioning measures.

As a final tip, all companies should have a manual with sanctioning measures that can mitigate these irregularities. While they can be carried out in conjunction with the workers, these can be carried out by the board of directors and the legal department of the company. Because this works as a disciplinary system, in which each type of infraction has internal consequences, in addition to those set by law.

This allows companies to avoid criminal prosecution, as they would have the control and authority to sanction and resolve internal problems before they escalate to other legal authorities. Thus, companies are guaranteed to maintain discretion, while being able to resolve conflicts through internal agreements and sanctions.

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