CROATIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Ivan Gržić, TUS & GRŽIĆ
1. Legal Framework and General Principles 1.1 Scope of Financial Crime and General Criminal Law Principles In the Croatian legal system, “financial crime” is not legally defined. It is a descriptive term used to denote offences affecting property, financial or economic interests, often involving complex transactions or abuse of trust. It particularly includes: • property offences (eg, fraud – Article 236; abuse of trust in business – Article 246); • corruption offences (eg, bribery – Articles 293– 294); • money laundering (Article 265); • offences against the economy and financial system (Chapter XXIV); • tax offences (eg, tax evasion – Article 256); • capital market offences (eg, market abuse – Article 260 in conjunction with the Capital Market Act/EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)); • violations of international sanctions; and • cyber-enabled property offences (Chapter XXV; eg, computer fraud – Article 271). A financial crime exists where the following elements are met: • an act or omission; • unlawfulness; • culpability; and • statutory definition. Typical elements include: • conduct (eg, deception, concealment); • consequence (pecuniary damage or unlawful gain); • causation; and • subjective element (fault). Liability generally requires intent (direct/indirect) or negligence; most financial crimes require intent, while negligent offences are rarer. Attempts are punishable if the offence carries more than five years’ imprisonment or where law expressly allows. Attempt liability exists for serious financial
crimes. Participation includes incitement and aiding/ abetting (Articles 37–39). Criminal association (Article 328) addresses organised crime; Croatia does not rec - ognise Anglo-Saxon “conspiracy”, but similar func - tions are served. Legal persons may be criminally liable under the Criminal Liability of Legal Persons Act (CLPA), which governs conditions, penalties, confiscation, seizure, publication of judgments, limitation periods and pro - cedure. 1.2 Burden and Standard of Proof The presumption of innocence and the burden of proof are governed by the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) and the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia. Every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final judgment. Under Article 3 (2) CPA/08, the burden of proving guilt lies with the prosecutor. The suspect or accused is not required to prove their innocence and has the right to remain silent. The standard of proof for conviction is “beyond rea - sonable doubt”, and in case of doubt, in dubio pro reo applies. Limited presumptions exist in specific contexts, such as confiscation of criminal proceeds or money laundering, but the prosecutor must always prove the offence and guilt. Liability requires fault (intent or negligence), while strict liability is generally Under the Criminal Code, a person may be held crimi - nally liable as a participant if they knowingly take part in the commission of an offence by another perpetra - tor. Participation includes, in particular: • co-perpetration (Article 36 of the Criminal Code), where a person commits an offence alone or through another person; • incitement (Article 37) – ie, inducing another person to commit an offence; and • aiding and abetting (Article 38) – ie, facilitating the commission of an offence by providing advice, means, removing obstacles or otherwise assisting. limited to misdemeanours. 1.3 Aiding and Abetting
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