PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Bárbara Marinho e Pinto, Amanda Bueno Almeida and Lua Mota Santos, Rogério Alves & Associados Sociedade de Advogados, SP, RL
mance of any act or omission contrary to the duties of the position held or to be held, is punishable by imprisonment of one to five years (Article 374 of the Penal Code). Regarding passive corruption, see 1.2 Causes of Action After Receipt of a Bribe . Corruption in the private sector is also punishable, under the terms of Article 9 of Law No 20/2008, of 21 April, with a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine. If the conduct is aimed at distorting com - petition or damaging the property of third parties, the perpetrator is punished with imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 600 days, and attempts are punishable. Portugal’s Penal Code does not provide for the crime of conspiracy. Similar concepts include criminal asso - ciation (Article 299 of the Criminal Code) and agree - ment to commit certain crimes when defined (eg, terrorism), but there is no general criminalisation of “conspiracy” similar to that found in Anglo-Saxon legal systems. Extradition is permitted, within the lim - its and under the terms of Article 3 of the Assembly of the Republic Resolution 40/98. Illegitimate appropriation, provided for in Article 234 of the Penal Code, consists of someone having pow - er over public or co-operative sector assets (either by administering them, managing them or simply using them) and illegally appropriating those assets, or intentionally allowing someone else to do so. The penalty will be the one provided for the crime, with the aggravating factor of one third at its maximum and minimum limits. In this case, the attempt is pun - ishable. 1.2 Causes of Action After Receipt of a Bribe Article 373 (1) of the Penal Code punishes the crime of passive corruption in the following terms: if the offi - cial requests or accepts, for themselves or for a third party, a pecuniary or non-pecuniary advantage, or the promise thereof, for the performance of any act or omission contrary to the duties of the office, he/she shall be punished with imprisonment of one to eight years. If this act or omission is not contrary to the duties of the office and the advantage is not due to
them, the official will be punished with imprisonment of one to five years. If the act or omission is not contrary to the duties of the office and the advantage is not due, the official shall be punished with imprisonment of one to five years. 1.3 Claims Against Parties Who Assist or Facilitate Fraudulent Acts In Portugal, both the perpetrator and the accomplice of a crime are punished (Articles 26 and 27 of the Penal Code). The perpetrator of a crime is anyone who carries out the criminal act themselves or through another per - son, anyone who takes a direct part in the execution by agreement with one or more other agents, and any - one who intentionally directs another person to carry out the illegal act. On the other hand, anyone who in any way assists someone in the commission of a crime is punished as an accomplice. In these cases, the penalty is espe - cially mitigated under the terms of Article 73 of the Penal Code. Anyone who contributes to the dissipation or conceal - ment of benefits derived from a criminal offence is liable for the offence of money laundering under the terms of Article 368-A of the Penal Code. This offence is likewise committed by any person who, even if not the perpetrator of the predicate offence, acquires, possesses or uses such assets, provided they are The limitation periods in the Portuguese legal system depend on the penal framework of each crime (Article 118 of the Penal Code). • If the maximum custodial sentence is more than ten years in prison, the statute of limitation period is fifteen years. • If the maximum custodial sentence is more than five years in prison but less than ten years, the statute of limitation period is ten years. aware of their illicit origin. 1.4 Limitation Periods
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