La responsabilità penale negli accordi di ristrutturazione del debito e nel concordato preventivo (nota alla sentenza della Sezione V Penale della Corte di Cassazione del 20 aprile 2022 (dep. 18 maggio 2022), n. 19540)

With its noteworthy decision no. 19540 dated May 18th 2022, the Italian Supreme Court excluded the applicability of the bankruptcy criminal norms to the cases of a conduct put in place within the scope of the so-called "ordinary” debt restructuring agreements, ruled by Article 182 bis of the Bankruptcy Law.

The case also provided the Supreme Court with an opportunity to express its opinion on the limits of the criminal liability of alternate auditors and, moreover, on the conditions of applicability (to auditors and directors) of the interdictory precautionary measure of the suspension from the register of chartered accountants and the temporary prohibition from exercising entrepreneurial activity.

The present contribution is specifically focused on the three above-mentioned issues, with particular regard to the conduct that may cause the criminal liability of auditors and other representatives of companies in a crisis state.