Who Is Liable for Corporate Crime? Pakistan, Italy & Panama

When a company commits a crime, who actually answers for it, the corporation, its directors, or the individual who acted? In this Global Law Experts roundtable, three criminal and white-collar practitioners compare how Pakistan, Italy and Panama assign corporate and individual criminal liability, run cross-border investigations, handle disclosure and evidence, and respond to financial-crime enforcement in 2026. The through-line: each of these systems is moving past the idea that a corporate structure can shield the people behind it. Whether through Pakistan's lifting of the corporate veil, Italy's compliance-programme defence, or Panama's beneficial-ownership registry, liability increasingly follows control and real benefit, not just the name on the company. Chapters: 0:00 Introductions and the panel 5:18 Question 1: corporate versus individual criminal liability 6:21 Pakistan: layered statutes and lifting the corporate veil 14:35 Italy: the 2001 reform and the compliance-programme defence 19:18 Panama: the legal representative and the beneficial-ownership registry 24:58 Question 2: cross-border investigations and enforcement 25:29 Pakistan: mutual legal assistance after FATF 32:16 Italy: enforcing asset-recovery and evidence requests from abroad 36:21 Panama: how treaties cut cooperation from years to months 41:00 Question 3: defence strategy and evidentiary challenges 41:33 Pakistan: due process, disclosure and chain of custody 47:45 Italy: why the case is won or lost in the courtroom 50:55 Panama: reserved investigations and late access to the file 55:05 Question 4: regulatory scrutiny and financial-crime enforcement 55:37 Pakistan: overlapping anti-money-laundering laws 59:17 Italy: when a company's internal investigation incriminates it 62:25 Panama: anti-fraud audits, crypto and AI 66:32 Question 5: risk, reputation and future trends 67:03 Pakistan: AI-generated evidence and reputational risk 70:40 Panama: asset-forfeiture laws and ownership transparency 73:15 Closing thoughts Panel: Asma Hamid, Pakistan Alessandro Gentiloni Silveri, Italy Mijail Castillo Rivera, Panama Hosted by Jenny, Global Law Experts.