INSOL International is pleased to present a new technical paper, “New Insolvency-Related Criminal Offences in Chile”, written by Roberto Villaseca, Daniela Lozano and Francisco Ossa, of Carey & Cia.

The paper provides an overview of the insolvency-related criminal offences introduced in Chile in 2023. Those offences provide for criminal penalties for a company that has, within certain time periods prior to its insolvency, conducted its management improperly, or has otherwise dissipated, concealed or divested assets, in a manner that causes prejudice to the collective body of creditors. The criminal penalties are novel, as most other jurisdictions typically provide only for civil penalties in these cases.

The paper discusses the background to the reforms, the key policy rationales and the practical significance of the new laws. 

The authors also conducted a wide range of interviews with insolvency and criminal law experts, and the views of these experts are summarised in the paper to enhance the understanding and implications of the laws for practitioners. 

INSOL International expresses its gratitude to the authors for their time and expertise in writing this paper in an important region of the world. The experience of the new laws in Chile could in time also benefit future insolvency law reform in other jurisdictions.

View the paper here