POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tomasz Konopka, Katarzyna Randzio-Sajkowska, Katarzyna Stradomska-Balcerzyk and Michał Zieliński, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak
circumstances to a law enforcement authority that had no prior knowledge of these facts. If, on the other hand, the prosecutor refers the indict - ment to the court and the trial begins, the accused still has the possibility of voluntarily submitting to the punishment, according to Article 387 of the Criminal Code. This possibility exists: • until the end of the first hearing of all the accused; and • if the offence is punishable by up to 15 years’ imprisonment. The accused may make use of this possibility by sub - mitting a request for a verdict and for the imposition of a specific penalty or measure of punishment, forfeiture or compensation without taking evidence. When considering the defendant’s request for volun - tary surrender, the court examines whether the cir - cumstances of the offence and guilt are beyond doubt and whether the objectives of the proceedings will be achieved despite the absence of a full trial. Pursuant to the CC, an active briber is not subject to a penalty if the benefit or its promise has been accepted by a passive briber and the perpetrator has reported this to a law enforcement authority. An active briber must disclose all the substantive circumstances of the crime before this authority has learned about it. 3. White-Collar Offences 3.1 Criminal Company Law and Corporate Fraud Pursuant to Article 296 of the CC, anyone who, while under a legal obligation to manage the property or business of an individual, a company, or an organi - sational unit without legal personality, by abusing the authority vested in them, or by failing to perform their duties inflicts substantial damage, is liable to impris - onment for between three months and five years. If the offender referred to above, by abusing the authority vested in them, or by failing to perform their duties, creates an imminent danger of causing substantial damage to property, they are liable to imprisonment
for up to three years. For perpetrators acting with the intent to gain a material benefit, a more severe punish - ment is prescribed, ranging from six months to eight years in prison. Non-deliberate violations are subject to imprisonment for up to three years. If the perpe - trator of the above offence caused damage exceed - ing PLN1 million, they are liable to imprisonment for between one and ten years. Corporate fraud may also be classified as an offence of misappropriation. According to Article 284 of the CC, anyone who misappropriates movable prop - erty entrusted to them is liable to imprisonment for between three months and five years. The CC also provides for criminal liability for corrup - tion in business (see 3.2 Bribery, Influence Peddling and Related Offences ). Moreover, Article 306b of the CC introduced aggravat - ed forms of certain offences against business transac - tions and property interests in civil law transactions (eg, acting to the detriment of the company, money laundering). If the value of the property or the amount of damage exceeds PLN5 million, such crimes are punishable by three to 20 years of imprisonment. If the value of the property or the amount of the damage exceeds PLN10 million, such crimes are punishable by five to 25 years’ imprisonment. Thus, some financial crimes can be a felony (see 1.1 Criminal Offences ). Additionally, Article 23 of the Combating of Unfair Competition Act (CUCA) criminalises illegal use of business secrets. Anyone who causes serious dam - age to an entrepreneur by violating their obligation towards that entrepreneur by disclosing business secrets to another person or using such secrets in their own business shall be liable to a standard fine, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment for a period of up to two years. The same penalty applies to anyone who illegally obtains access to business secrets and dis - closes them to another person or uses such secrets in their own business. Article 24 of the CUCA criminalises causing serious damage to an entrepreneur by reproducing or copying their products in a manner that might mislead custom - ers as to the identity of the manufacturer. The perpe -
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