The need to criminalize testaferrato (frontman conduct) as an independent offense in the Peruvian criminal legal system

Abstract

This work addresses a current problem: the existence of people who lend their name to acquire goods with money from crime or illegal activities and therefore apparently appear as their owners, a behavior not criminalized in the Peruvian Criminal Code. The proposal is to regulate testaferrato (frontman conduct) as a specific criminal offense, in relation to the Money Laundering offense. The methodology was qualitative, with an exploratory, descriptive and explanatory design, using observation, analysis and synthesis methods. The data collection technique was documentary analysis through a grid applied to a sample of 10 archived Money Laundering cases committed by private individuals, from the Lambayeque Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and confirmed by the Superior Prosecutor's Office Specialized in Money Laundering. A comparative law analysis of the legal systems of Colombia, Ecuador and Guatemala was also conducted. Results show that in 60% of cases there is proven patrimonial imbalance but testaferrato cannot be subsumed under the Money Laundering offense; that in 100% of cases the active subject is a private individual —not covered by the illicit enrichment offense of art. 401 of the Criminal Code, reserved for public officials. It is concluded that there is a structural punishability gap that only an autonomous testaferrato offense can close.