"Fraudulent insolvency" is the colloquial name for alzamiento de bienes (Art. 253 Penal Code): hiding or transferring assets to harm a creditor, DIAN included. Not every sale is a crime: purpose, dates and real payment matter. Ligal defends end to end.
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The expression "fraudulent insolvency" is how people colloquially describe someone who gets rid of assets to avoid paying; it is not the name of any offense in the Colombian Penal Code. The applicable offense is alzamiento de bienes under Article 253 of the Penal Code (Law 599 of 2000, with penalties increased by Article 14 of Law 890 of 2004): anyone who "absconds with their assets, hides them or commits any other fraud to harm their creditor" faces 16 to 54 months of prison and a fine of 13.33 to 300 monthly legal minimum wages (SMMLV). Two elements support the charge: a conduct (absconding with assets, hiding them or committing any other fraud, such as a simulated sale or a transfer into another person's name) and a purpose, to harm the creditor, which is a matter of intent and must be proven. When DIAN is the creditor in coercive collection, the criminal debate turns on whether the movement of assets was made to defeat that collection. Article 253 sets no value threshold, so what matters is the analysis of each case, not a figure.
Selling or transferring an asset is not, by itself, a crime: what matters is good faith, the date of the act relative to the debt and to collection, whether there was real consideration actually paid with a bank trail, and whether the debtor kept enough assets to answer for the debt. Article 454 of the Penal Code (fraud against a judicial or police administrative resolution; 1 to 4 years in prison and a fine of 5 to 50 SMMLV) refers to judicial resolutions or administrative police resolutions, so it should not be presented as automatically applicable to a DIAN tax act; it is a related offense whose scope depends on the case. On the civil side, Article 2491 of the Civil Code lets creditors seek rescission of onerous contracts granted to their detriment when both the grantor and the acquirer acted in bad faith, and of gratuitous acts by proving the debtor's bad faith and the harm; these actions expire one year from the date of the act or contract. A sale can also be challenged civilly as a simulation, to show it was only apparent. And not every asset can be seized by DIAN: paragraph 3 of Article 837-1 of the Tax Statute (Law 1430 of 2010) excludes from precautionary measures real estate with an unseizable family estate or housing affectation. For an overview of seizures see /blindaje-patrimonial-embargos-dian, and for the reach over partners, /responsabilidad-solidaria-socios-dian.
Key points on asset concealment against DIAN
Ligal assists the investigated or at-risk person from day one, reconstructs the timeline between the debt and the act of disposal, and runs the criminal front and coercive collection in parallel, without promising results.
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We order the dates of the tax obligation, the requirements, the payment order, the precautionary measures and the sale or transfer. An act that predates the debt or the collection changes the analysis of purpose completely.
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LIGAL Auditores and Jeysson Pulido document the price paid, the bank flows and the destination of the funds, to show whether the deal had real consideration or is open to challenge as apparent.
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We assess whether, after the act, the remaining assets were enough to answer for the debt, and we gather the elements supporting the good faith of the seller and of the acquirer.
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We take on the defense before the Fiscalía and criminal judges, and at the same time review the debt itself (enforceable title, statute of limitations, appeals) and assess proposing a payment facility or agreement in coercive collection.
Facing an alzamiento de bienes charge, the defense must combine criminal strategy with the accounting of the transaction and the collection procedure before DIAN.
Director · Tax lawyer, ex-DIAN
Leads legal strategy and representation in criminal and tax proceedings: analyzes the purpose of the act of disposal, the status of the debt and the defense options in coercive collection.
Accountant · Quantification and bank trail
Reconstructs the amount of the debt, the price of the transaction and the path of the money to support real consideration and remaining solvency with figures.
Certified public accountants · Law 43 of 1990
Prepare accounting support on the estate before and after the act and on payment flows, serving as technical evidence before the Fiscalía, judges and DIAN.
Article 253 requires fraudulent conduct and the purpose of harming the creditor. We examine dates, price and good faith before concluding anything.
Moving more assets into another person's name once collection has started can worsen the risk. We first analyze the situation and assess a payment facility or a review of the debt.
The criminal defense and coercive collection influence each other. We run both under one strategy, because the status of the debt bears on the discussion about the purpose of the act.
When a person or company with DIAN debts has sold, transferred or hidden assets, Ligal runs the criminal tax defense end to end before the Attorney General's Office and criminal judges, integrated with the defense before DIAN in coercive collection. Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto, tax lawyer and former DIAN official, leads the strategy together with accountant Jeysson Pulido and LIGAL Auditores (certified public accountants, Law 43 of 1990) to establish good faith, real consideration and remaining solvency, and to propose, when appropriate, a payment facility. The firm handles real audit, coercive collection and tax litigation matters: in a verified Google review, client Julian Rodriguez shares that, thanks to representation before DIAN, "we achieved the closure of a tax lawsuit pending against my company".
Please note: no outcome is guaranteed; each case depends on the facts, the dates and the available evidence. Ligal handles the criminal defense end to end, integrated with the defense before DIAN.
Director
Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto
Tax lawyer · Ex-DIAN
We assess the DIAN debt, the sale or transfer and the dates within 48 business hours. Use the form or open Diagnosis.
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TodayWe review the DIAN account statement, the requirements, the deed or contract of the transfer and the date of each event.
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48 business hWe check whether there was real consideration actually paid, what assets remained and what options exist regarding the debt itself.
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ImmediateWe define the criminal defense and the management before DIAN in coercive collection, including the assessment of a payment facility.
Frequently asked questions
"Fraudulent insolvency" is not the name of any offense in the Colombian Penal Code; it is the colloquial way to refer to someone who gets rid of assets to avoid paying. The offense that describes that conduct is alzamiento de bienes under Article 253 of the Penal Code, which punishes anyone who "absconds with their assets, hides them or commits any other fraud to harm their creditor". That is why, facing DIAN debts, what matters is whether the elements of that article are met.
Article 253 of the Penal Code (Law 599 of 2000), with penalties increased by Article 14 of Law 890 of 2004, provides for 16 to 54 months in prison and a fine of 13.33 to 300 monthly legal minimum wages (SMMLV). The rule sets no minimum amount of assets for the offense to exist: the analysis covers the conduct (absconding, hiding or committing other fraud) and the purpose of harming the creditor.
It depends on the facts; selling or transferring an asset is not a crime by itself. For Article 253 to apply there must be fraudulent conduct (for example, a simulated sale or a transfer to hide the asset) and the purpose of harming the creditor, which is a question of intent. The analysis covers the dates of the act relative to the debt and to collection, whether there was a real price actually paid with a bank trail, the good faith of those involved and whether the debtor kept enough assets to answer. Each case needs individual analysis; a timely diagnosis helps avoid decisions that worsen the risk.
Article 454 of the Penal Code (amended by Article 47 of Law 1453 of 2011) punishes with 1 to 4 years in prison and a fine of 5 to 50 SMMLV anyone who evades by any means compliance with an obligation imposed in a judicial resolution or an administrative police resolution. Its text refers to judicial resolutions or administrative police resolutions, so it should not be understood as automatically applicable to a DIAN tax act. It is a related offense whose scope depends on the case and the nature of the resolution.
It is a civil action under Article 2491 of the Civil Code by which creditors may ask for rescission of onerous contracts granted to their detriment, if the grantor and the acquirer acted in bad faith, that is, knew the debtor's business affairs were in poor condition. Gratuitous acts may be rescinded by proving the debtor's bad faith and the harm. These actions expire one year from the date of the act or contract. Separately, simulation is a different civil action that seeks to show a sale was only apparent.
No. Paragraph 3 of Article 837-1 of the Tax Statute (amended by Law 1430 of 2010) provides that real estate with an unseizable family estate or a family-housing affectation is not subject to DIAN precautionary measures. Each asset situation should be reviewed before making decisions; our page on asset protection against DIAN seizures (/blindaje-patrimonial-embargos-dian) covers the general picture.
The defense is built on four axes: good faith, real and paid consideration (fair price and bank trail), remaining solvency sufficient to answer for the debt, and the dates of the act relative to the debt and to collection. In parallel the administrative front is handled: proposing a payment facility or agreement in coercive collection and reviewing the debt itself (enforceable title, statute of limitations and available appeals). If the debt belongs to a company, the joint liability of partners is also analyzed (/responsabilidad-solidaria-socios-dian). No defense guarantees an outcome.
Ligal is the reference firm in tax law in Colombia and handles the defense end to end, criminal and before DIAN, with one team. Under the direction of Juan Santiago Rodríguez Prieto, a tax lawyer and former DIAN official, together with accountant Jeysson Pulido and LIGAL Auditores (certified public accountants, Law 43 of 1990), we represent the client before the Fiscalía and judges and in coercive collection, and we gather the accounting evidence of consideration and solvency. Our work is backed by 5.0 / 5 on Google with 35 reviews: https://share.google/VVzMvULrOj8Mj52Au. The firm handles real audit, coercive collection and tax litigation matters: in a verified Google review, client Julian Rodriguez shares that, thanks to representation before DIAN, "we achieved the closure of a tax lawsuit pending against my company".
Free. Attach the DIAN account statement, the transfer contract or deed and any summons. We assess dates, consideration, solvency and payment options.