Crimes against property

Crimes against property represent a traditional component of criminal law, since they punish conducts that have always been considered deserving of sanction, such as:

• theft
• robbery
• extortion
• usury
• fraud
• embezzlement
• vandalism

In today’s socio-economic context, a number of significant – and entirely lawful – activities can be seriously damaged by ruinous conduct against their assets. One need only think of the urgency to track financial flows and the insidiousness of money laundering (often committed through the use of cryptocurrencies) or the receipt of stolen property, but also of significant cases of fraud (often online e.g., phishing) or embezzlement, which sometimes wreak havoc with financial and insurance activities.

The most recent legislative changes also require careful monitoring and verification of customers and commercial transactions carried out, by complying with money-laundering obligations, governed by legislative decree 231/2007. Similarly, in an effort to combat the so-called white-collar crimes, a careful examination of the criminal provisions for the protection of assets is essential. It should be noted that one of the most important areas of intervention brought about by legislative decree 150/2022 (aka the Cartabia Reform) in terms of substantive criminal law is a significant extension of the scope for prosecuting the main crimes against property.

Cybercrimes and crimes against information technologies are the new frontiers of criminal law in this area. Such crimes are capable of wreaking havoc with our economic and civil life. Such crimes include “damage to information, data and computer programs” (Article 635 bis), “computer fraud” (Article 640 ter), “damage to information, data and computer programs used by the government or other public body or in any case of public utility “(art. 635 ter),” damage to IT or online systems “(art. 635 quater),” damage to IT or online systems of public utility “(art. 635 quinquies),” computer fraud by providers of electronic signature certification services “(art. 640 quinquies).

Greater importance has been attributed by lawmakers to the institution of confiscation, even equivalent value confiscation, which can sometimes even ignore the conviction of the guilty party or be imposed on assets other than those of the offender, as it can, under certain conditions, also affect corporate assets for acts committed by persons belonging to the company.

In recent years, the regulation of preventive measures has become increasingly important, as it is no longer confined to the specific area of organized crime.

With respect to crimes against property, Baccaredda Boy Law Firm provides legal assistance primarily in the area of white-collar crimes. The Firm’s lawyers specialized in crimes against property also offer their professional advice to numerous companies in need of protection from offences against their assets and their image and must ensure constant and regular compliance with legal requirements. In this branch of the law, Baccaredda Boy Law Firm also provides its consulting services to a well-known auction house as well as to leading insurance companies, especially in proceedings relating to insurance fraud or in criminal matters that are detrimental to companies.With respect to the academic output of the Firm, the following monograph is worth noting: “I delitti contro il patrimonio mediante violenza” (Violent crimes against property), by Carlo Baccaredda Boy and Stefano Lalomia, as part of the volume A Treatise on Criminal Law – special section edited by Giorgio Marinucci and Emilio Dolcini (Vol. VIII, CEDAM, 2010).