FALLET · VARELA & Asociados
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Compliance

Integrity programs, internal investigations and defense of legal entities against corporate criminal liability.

Mendoza
Own offices in the city of Mendoza
Provincial and federal
We litigate in both jurisdictions and across the country
Inter-American
Cases before the IACHR and United Nations committees
Immediate reply
Urgent matters on WhatsApp outside office hours

Since Law 27,401 a company can be criminally charged for bribery, fraud against the State or false accounting committed by its employees or intermediaries. Having a real integrity program, and not a document filed away in a drawer, is what separates a mitigating factor from a conviction.

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Lucas Fallet La Rocca on why a company needs counsel of its own

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What we handle

The concrete scope of this area

  • Design and implementation of integrity programs under Law 27,401
  • Internal investigations and whistleblowing channels
  • Protocols for workplace harassment, gender violence and internal conflict
  • Due diligence on suppliers and counterparties
  • Training for boards, management and sales teams
  • Criminal defense of the legal entity and of its directors

What comes next

What happens after you write to us

  1. Step 1

    First consultation

    We listen to the case and say plainly what can and cannot be done. If there is no case, we say so.

  2. Step 2

    Strategy

    We define the plan, the timeline and the cost before starting. No surprises afterwards.

  3. Step 3

    Follow up

    One lawyer responsible for the case, with a name and a direct line, for as long as it runs.

When to get in touch

Before the problem shows up: when the company contracts with the State, trades across borders or brings in new partners.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before the first meeting

Can a company face criminal charges in Argentina?

Yes. Under Law 27,401 legal entities are criminally liable for bribery, influence peddling, dealings incompatible with public office, illegal exaction and false accounting or reporting, where the act was committed by their employees, directors or intermediaries and the company benefited from it. Penalties range from fines to suspension of activities and loss of State benefits.

What is an integrity programme and when is it needed?

It is the set of policies, controls, training and whistleblowing channels through which a company prevents and detects the offences covered by Law 27,401. It is required to contract with the national State under certain agreements, and in any event it is what can mitigate or exclude the company liability if the act occurs anyway. It also narrows individual criminal liability: the compliance officer concentrates the duty of oversight that would otherwise be demanded of each director. A programme that exists only on paper does none of that.

What happens when an irregularity turns up inside the company?

An internal investigation, before the matter arrives from outside. For that to be possible the company must already run an internal reporting channel that allows anonymous reports, which is how an irregularity surfaces in time. From there, digital evidence is preserved, interviews are conducted with the rights of the interviewee safeguarded, and every step is documented, because that documentation is what later supports the company position before the prosecutor. Improvising at this stage tends to destroy precisely the evidence that matters most.

When is the right time to call a compliance lawyer?

Before the problem. When the company starts contracting with the State, trades across borders, brings in new partners or grows sharply in headcount. Once the act has happened the room for manoeuvre is far smaller and decisions get made against the clock.
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Espacio Jurídico Integral

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