LIECHTENSTEIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Ott, Andreas Vogel, Husmira Halis and Felix Bayer, Schurti Partners Attorneys at Law Ltd
4.2 De Minimis Liechtenstein criminal law does not provide for de minimis exceptions for white-collar crime offences, nor are any specific industries and/or sectors exempt - ed from prosecution. However, the Princely District Court can rule that the commission of an offence is not punishable if certain prerequisites are met, for example, that: • the act to be prosecuted is only punishable by a monetary penalty or imprisonment of not more than three years; • the suspect’s culpability does not require punish - ment; • the offence had only insignificant consequences or consequences incurred were remedied (or at least seriously attempted to be remedied); and • a penalty is not required to deter the suspected predator or the public. However, this possibility of discontinuing proceed - ings in white-collar crime cases is of little practical relevance. 4.3 Plea Agreements, Co-Operation, Self- Disclosure and Leniency Liechtenstein criminal law does not provide for the pos - sibility of a plea agreement. However, pleading guilty and showing remorse constitute mitigating factors that must be taken into consideration when determining the sentence of the perpetrator. It has become apparent in recent years that confessions can considerably reduce prison sentences in white-collar crime trials. Liechtenstein criminal law does also not generally pro - vide for leniency for material witnesses. However, the Liechtenstein Criminal Code does provide for extraor - dinary mitigation of penalty in the case of co-operation of an offender with the law enforcement authorities in relation to offences of criminal organisations and terror - ist groups (the so-called “small leniency programme”). Both self-disclosure and co-operation are mitigating factors which can reduce a possible penalty signifi - cantly, help to achieve a “diversion”, or lead to the discontinuation of investigations. Against this back - ground, it can be deemed advisable for legal entities
to co-operate under certain circumstances. However, legal entities are not required by law to self-disclose any misconduct. 4.4 Whistle-Blower Protection Liechtenstein does not provide specific legal protec - tion for whistle-blowers. However, both the Financial Market Authority and the Liechtenstein Police have set up a platform to ensure whistle-blowers have access to an anonymous and secure reporting process. 4.5 Cross-Border Defence Strategies In the case of cross-border investigations, co-ordina - tion and co-operation between the various jurisdic - tions involved are essential. Due to international co- operation between law enforcement agencies and the exchange of investigation results under mutual legal assistance, a successful defence strategy can only work if the approach in the respective jurisdictions is co-ordinated and harmonised, otherwise the law enforcement agencies will have a significant infor - mation advantage. In this sense, it is essential, for example, in the case of a foreign investigation in which documents are to be seized in Liechtenstein under mutual legal assistance, to co-ordinate the steps in Liechtenstein with the foreign defence attorneys. 5. Key Trends and Future Outlook 5.1 The Year Ahead The Liechtenstein legislator is currently discussing the creation of a legal basis for new investigative methods involving the visual and acoustic surveillance of individ - uals, in response to the increasing threat of organised and cross-border crime. The bill is intended to enable law enforcement agencies to secretly monitor individu - als by invading their privacy and using technical aids for transmitting or recording images or sounds. In addition, a complete overhaul of administrative criminal proceedings is planned. The current provi - sions are more than 100 years old. The aim is to estab - lish clear, comprehensible and modern procedures, particularly for complex administrative criminal pro - ceedings in the financial sector.
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