LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Ott, Andreas Vogel, Husmira Halis and Felix Bayer, Schurti Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd
ity Implementation Act ( EWR-Finanzdienstleistungs- Nachhaltigkeits-Durchführungsgesetz – EWR-FNDG). 3.15 Artificial Intelligence and Automation Misuse The Liechtenstein legislator has not (yet) introduced specific criminal offences relating to the misuse of AI, algorithmic trading, or automated decision-making processes in financial or commercial contexts. Any such misuse must be assessed under existing criminal offences. 3.16 Crypto-Assets and Digital Currency Crimes Significant offences relating to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in the Liechtenstein Criminal Code include fraud and money laundering. Since the beginning of 2020, Liechtenstein has had its own law on tokens and trusted technology ser - vice providers ( Token- und VT-Dienstleister-Gesetz – TVTG). In addition to the TVTG, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR) has also applied to crypto asset service providers in Liechtenstein since 1 February 2025. MiCAR regulates the public offering and appli - cation for admission to trading of asset-referenced tokens, e-money tokens and other such tokens. The EEA MiCA Implementation Act ( EWR-MiCA- Durchführungsgesetz – EWR-MiCA-DG) implements MiCAR and stipulates various penal provisions. The Liechtenstein courts can, for example, imprison pro - viders of crypto asset services for up to three years if they violate their duty of confidentiality or offer asset- referenced tokens without meeting MiCAR require - ments. Additionally, the Liechtenstein court punishes insider trading, the unlawful disclosure of insider infor - mation and market manipulation with regard to crypto asset services.
often only learn that criminal proceedings are being conducted against them after a seizure of objects or information stored on data carriers or an asset-freeze has been ordered. In these circumstances, it can be in the best interest of the suspect to argue in an appeal that no initial suspicion can be established and there - fore request the lifting of the respective order, which in turn leads to the discontinuation of the investigations (at least, in most cases). Another best-case scenario is to prove that the objec - tive elements of an offence are not met. This can be achieved by a written statement and therefore does not require the interrogation of a suspect (which can be burdensome). If a conviction appears likely on the basis of the avail - able evidence, a co-operative strategy (eg, making a confession and contributing to establish the facts of the case) can be beneficial, as it creates mitigating factors that must be taken into consideration when a sentence is determined. Provided that the prereq - uisites are met, it can also be appropriate to try to achieve a “diversion” (see 2.7 Deferred Prosecution ) which does not result in a conviction and a detrimen - tal entry in the criminal register, but only a reduced punishment. With regards to the criminal liability of a legal entity, the introduction of an adequate compliance programme is an important defence instrument. Firstly, the commis - sion of offences can be prevented by effective com - pliance programmes. Secondly, an effective compli - ance programme makes it extremely difficult for the prosecutor (who carries the burden of proof) to prove an organisational fault, which is mandatory in order to hold a legal entity criminally liable for an offence committed by a subordinate (ie, the criminal act of a subordinate must be at least facilitated by the lack of adequate risk management). However, an effec - tive compliance programme does not prevent a legal entity from being held criminally liable if a manager or director commits a crime. In this context, co-operation (among other factors) can be of the utmost importance and can even lead to the discontinuation of proceedings.
4. Pleas and Defences 4.1 White-Collar Defences
As a general rule, the best defence strategy must always be decided on a case-by-case basis. Suspects
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