Recital 23

(23) Given that legal persons are also subject to Union restrictive measures, such legal persons should be held liable for offences related to the violation of Union restrictive measures as defined in this Directive. ‘Legal persons’ are thereby understood as any legal entity having such status under the applicable law, except for States or public bodies exercising State authority and for public international organisations. In order to achieve the objectives of this Directive, Member States which law provides for the criminal liability of legal persons should ensure that their law provides for effective, dissuasive and proportionate types and levels of criminal penalties as laid down in this Directive. In order to achieve the objectives of this Directive, Member States which law does not provide for the criminal liability of legal persons should ensure that their law provides for effective, dissuasive and proportionate types and levels of non-criminal penalties as laid down in this Directive. The maximum levels of fines provided for in this Directive for the offences defined in it should apply at least to the most serious forms of such offences. It is important that the gravity of the conduct, as well as the individual, financial and other circumstances of the legal persons concerned are taken into account to ensure that the penalty imposed is effective, dissuasive and proportionate. Member States should be able to set the maximum levels of fines either as a percentage of the total worldwide turnover of the legal person concerned, or in fixed amounts. Member States should decide which of those two options they will use, when transposing this Directive.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-12 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.