DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Evers Hjelmborg, Christian Monberg, Linn Dyrgaard Stinus and Ann Sophie Juul Hird, Accura Advokatpartnerselskab
4.5 Safe Harbour or Amnesty Programme There are no forms of safe harbour or amnesty programmes based on self-reporting under the Criminal Code. However, having an effective and updated com - pliance programme, ensuring regular compli - ance training of all relevant employees and other initiatives which reduce the risk of an offence being committed will generally be considered a mitigating circumstance in connection with sentencing, although it will not necessarily lead charges being dropped or a penalty being dis - missed entirely. Likewise, adequate consultation of legal advice prior to the act at hand, such as a lawyer specialising in the relevant area, and acting in accordance with the advice sought, can also be considered a mitigating circumstance, unless it is obvious that the company itself should have known that the action was illegal. Lastly, self-reporting can be a mitigating factor in connection with sentencing. 5. Penalties for Violations 5.1 Penalties on Conviction The penalty framework for the offences noted in this chapter is set out below. • If a person is found guilty of active or pas - sive bribery of a public official, they can either be fined or sentenced to up to six years in prison. • If a person is found guilty of bribery in the private sector, they can either be fined or sen - tenced to up to four years in prison. • If a person is found guilty of embezzlement, they can either be fined or sentenced to up to 1.5 years in prison.
company can be held criminally liable. In situa - tions where the liable company has been divided after having committed an offence, the place - ment of responsibility depends on whether one of the new entities can be said to continue the part of the offending company that is relevant to the committed act.
4. Defences and Exceptions 4.1 Defences
The Criminal Code does not provide for any specific defences in relation to corruption and bribery offences besides the common defenc - es which can be used in relation to almost all criminal offences (self-defence, stress of neces - sity, being a minor, or being in a mental state of exception). 4.2 Exceptions There are no defences available to the violations under the Criminal Code. As such, there are no exceptions. 4.3 De Minimis Exceptions There are no formal de minimis exceptions under the Criminal Code and the provisions regarding anti-corruption and anti-bribery, although brib - ery with offerings worth a very low amount may give rise to doubts as to whether the gift was given with the intention of bribery and thus result in a low or no sanction. 4.4 Exempt Sectors/Industries No sectors or industries are exempt from the offences noted previously in this chapter. The Criminal Code applies to all natural and legal persons within the Danish criminal jurisdiction as outlined in 3.2 Geographical Reach of Appli- cable Legislation .
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