POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Jaroslaw Kruk, Joanna Bogdanska and Urszula Brzozowska, KW Kruk and Partners Law Firm
1.7 Prevention of Defendants Dissipating or Secreting Assets One of the basic methods in criminal proceedings of preventing the perpetrator of fraud from dispersing or hiding assets is to file a motion to block the account that was used to commit the crime and, if the perpe - trators can be identified, also other accounts belong - ing to them. Such a blockade is associated with a ban on making withdrawals, outgoing transfers and other operations involving a reduction in the balance on the above-mentioned accounts. It is best to submit the application immediately – ie, at the very beginning of the proceedings, in the noti - fication of a suspected crime. This means that the account may already be blocked when the proceed - ings are in the in rem phase – ie, despite the fact that the perpetrator has not yet been identified. Criminal proceedings also provide for property security, which is a measure aimed at securing a future judgment on the accused’s property if there is a risk that the exe - cution of the judgment will not be possible without security. Both real estate and movable property may be subject to such seizure. As a rule, no fees are paid for activities in criminal proceedings, so the application for blocking accounts is not subject to a fee. Securing Claims in Civil Proceedings In civil proceedings, it is possible to obtain appro - priate security through the court imposing certain restrictions on the defendant or on a participant in the proceedings related to the management of prop - erty and the possibility of its disposal. As indicated in 1.3 Claims Against Parties Who Assist or Facilitate Fraudulent Acts , in a situation where the debtor dis- poses of their assets, the creditor may, after meeting the conditions specified in the regulations, also file an action for declaring the debtor’s legal transaction to the detriment of the creditor ineffective; this institution is called the Actio Pauliana. Furthermore, concealing, selling or deleting assets by the debtor is a crime pun - ishable by imprisonment.
further proceedings. In such a case, recovery requires lengthy negotiations first with the prosecutor and then with the court. When the funds obtained from the crime are further invested, the crime involves money laundering, as indicated in 1.3 Claims Against Parties Who Assist or Facilitate Fraudulent Acts . Indeed, money laun - dering is considered to be any activity that aims to introduce into the legal marketplace assets that come from illegal sources. Lost Funds as Material Evidence It is beneficial for the victim of the crime of fraud if the prosecutor’s office considers the funds lost by said victim as a result of fraud as material evidence. When the prosecutor’s office finds that this evidence is unnecessary for further proceedings, it may release it, which will enable the victim to recover the funds. 1.6 Rules of Pre-Action Conduct Out-of-Court Resolution Civil procedure Before bringing an action for damages as a result of a fraudulent act, the party who intends to bring the action should attempt to resolve the dispute out of court. An example of such an action is to issue a demand for payment to the entity that will be the defendant in the event of the claim, indicating a dead - line by which it must respond to the demand in ques - tion. Criminal procedure The criminal procedure does not provide for amica - ble proceedings before a case is filed. Before filing a report of a suspected crime, all actions are undertaken already within the framework of the ongoing proceed - ings; only within the scope of this procedure is it pos - sible to make any attempt at negotiation. Summons It is advisable to start by issuing a summons, as a summoned party may make an effort to reach a settle - ment in the case, thus avoiding litigation and reducing the costs of proceedings.
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