Embezzlement lawyer in Bucharest
Are you investigated for embezzlement, or have you found shortfalls in your company's accounts?In such a file everything is decided on documents: who held the assets, what sums were moved and how they were justified.
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What situation are you in right now?
Tell me where the matter stands, because each stage requires different steps.
An audit or internal control has identified shortfalls in the accounts
The audit conclusions are not a criminal judgment. What matters is who actually held the assets and how the movements were documented.
The employer or the company has filed a criminal complaint
Once the complaint is filed, the evidence begins to be gathered. Your explanations must be supported by documents from the very first step.
You are a director, manager, custodian or employee under investigation for embezzlement
The offense can only be committed by a person who manages or administers the assets. I check whether you actually held that capacity.
A damage figure has been established and measures have been taken over assets
The amount of the damage influences the sentencing limits and any precautionary measures. Both can be challenged with supporting evidence.
What I review immediately in an embezzlement file
- Whether you had, in law and in fact, duties of managing or administering the assets.
- What sums or goods are said to be missing and on what documents that is based.
- The accounting records, inventories and handover documents.
- Who had access to the funds, cash desk or warehouse, and under what internal procedures.
- How the damage was calculated and whether an expert report is needed.
- The precautionary measures ordered over your assets.
What documents you should send me
Tell me what capacity you held and what is being claimed against you.
The accounting and inventory documents
Inventory records, cash registers, stock reports and any document showing the movement of the sums or goods.
The contracts and duties of the person under investigation
Employment contract, job description, mandate decisions and internal procedures on handling assets.
The audit or control report
The report that identified the shortfall, together with the annexes and the explanations already given.
The damage calculation
The document setting out how the claimed amount was calculated and for what period.
What embezzlement is
Embezzlement means appropriating, using or dealing with money, valuables or other assets managed or administered by the perpetrator, in that person's own interest or in the interest of another.
It is one of the most frequent accusations in company-related financial crime files, and it is analysed on the accounting documents.
Who can be accused of embezzlement
Only a person who manages or administers the assets in question can commit the offense. This capacity results from the employment contract, from a mandate, from a decision of the company's bodies or from the actual duties performed.
A person who merely has occasional access to funds, without duties of management or administration, may answer for another offense, but not for embezzlement.
What conduct can amount to embezzlement
Appropriating money or goods
Taking the assets out of the company's patrimony and treating them as one's own.
Using them in one's own interest or for another
Using the sums or goods for purposes other than those of the company, even temporarily.
Dealing with the managed assets or valuables
Carrying out operations with the managed assets for personal benefit or for the benefit of another person.
Embezzlement or a mere inventory shortfall?
A shortfall may result from accounting errors, poor internal procedures, wastage or from the conduct of other persons with access to the assets.
For the offense to exist, it must be proven that the assets were appropriated, used or dealt with intentionally. Absent that proof, the discussion remains civil and disciplinary.
The difference between embezzlement, breach of trust and fraudulent management
Embezzlement concerns assets managed or administered by the perpetrator in a company context, based on that specific capacity.
Breach of trust concerns goods held on the basis of a title, with the obligation to return or use them in a certain way.
Fraudulent management involves damage caused while managing another person's assets, through acts contrary to that person's interest. The classification changes the sentencing limits and the defense strategy.
How the damage is established in an embezzlement case
The inventory and the accounting documents
The starting point is the shortfall recorded in the inventory and in the accounting records, which must be verified document by document.
The accounting expert report
In files with numerous operations, the expert report is decisive. I submit expert objectives and objections where the calculation is questionable.
Challenging the damage calculation
Amounts already returned, wrongly attributed operations and periods outside your duties can be removed from the amount retained.
What effect recovering or paying the damage has
Repaying the damage does not remove the offense, but it is relevant to the prosecutor's decision, to the sentence and to the civil claims.
I analyse whether payment is useful in your file and at what moment, so that it is not interpreted as an implicit admission of the alleged conduct.
Freezing assets in an embezzlement file
Precautionary measures can be ordered over personal assets, accounts and real estate, up to the value of the damage retained in the file.
I check the proportionality of the measure and the evidence supporting the claimed amount, and I file a challenge where the freezing exceeds what is justified.
How I build the defense in an embezzlement file
- I check whether the capacity of manager or administrator was actually held.
- I reconstruct the movement of the sums and goods on documents.
- I identify the other persons with access to the assets and the flaws in internal procedures.
- I challenge the damage calculation through objections and expert evidence.
- I prepare you for questioning and assist you at every hearing.
Where the file also involves contested documents, the accusation is analysed together with forgery of private documents.
Frequently asked questions
Does any inventory shortfall mean embezzlement?
No. A shortfall may result from accounting errors, poor procedures or the conduct of other persons. The offense requires proof that the assets were appropriated, used or dealt with intentionally.Who can commit embezzlement?
Only a person who manages or administers the assets in question, based on an employment contract, a mandate or actual duties performed within the company.Can a company director be accused of embezzlement?
Yes, where the director managed or administered the assets concerned. Liability is assessed on the actual duties and on the documents signed.How is the damage calculated?
It starts from the shortfall recorded in the accounts and inventories and is usually established through an accounting expert report, which can be challenged with documents and objections.What happens if the damage is repaid?
Repayment does not remove the offense, but it is relevant to the prosecutor's decision, to the sentence and to the civil claims in the file.What is the difference between embezzlement and fraudulent management?
Embezzlement concerns assets managed or administered by the perpetrator, while fraudulent management concerns damage caused while managing another person's assets through acts contrary to that person's interest.Can personal assets be frozen?
Yes, through precautionary measures ordered up to the value of the damage retained. The measure can be challenged where it is disproportionate.
Contact | Free initial assessment
Tell me in a few sentences what happened and I will tell you concretely what the next steps are. The first assessment discussion is free.
Official resources
- Criminal Code - art. 295 on embezzlement. (Legislation)
- Criminal Code - art. 238 and 242 on breach of trust and fraudulent management. (Legislation)