As bankruptcy (Adj.) (of ital.: banca rotta, broken or empty bank (the exchange broker)) a colloquial person or company is designated, who is insolvent, thus no more able to cover pending calculations and current expenditures over own capital. The term bankruptcy (Subst.) stands colloquially for the condition of the inability to pay. In the case solvent states does not speak one of the national bankruptcy. Normally also the possibility of a credit is exhausted completely. The legal terminology in Germany uses the term insolvency since the entry into force of the insolvency order.

The term bankruptcy comes from the exchange brokers in medieval upper Italy. These had developed to the time of the fair or market tables, on which they offered different currencies for the exchange. If the table was empty, then the change-over switch, similarly as the Bankrotteur, had no more money.

In the legal diction bankruptcy stands for the insolvency meeting acts described in "§ 283 of the German penal code (StGB). According to this regulation with imprisonment up to five years or fine one punishes, who with insolvency or with threatening or occurred inability to pay

1. Components of its fortune, which belong in case of the opening of the insolvency procedure to the insolvency mass, create aside or concealed or in the requirements of a normal economy destroyed, damages or makes contradicting way useless,
2. in the requirements of a normal economy contradicting way of loss or speculative transactions or difference business with goods or securities is received or by uneconomic expenditures, play or bet excessive amounts used or guilty becomes,
3. Goods or securities on credit constituted and it or out these goods manufactured things substantially under its value in the requirements of a normal economy contradicting way sells or otherwise delivers,
4. Right other one pretends or erdichtete rights recognizes,
5. Accounting books, to whose guidance it is legally obligated, omits in such a way leading or it leads or changes that the overview of its financial situation is made more difficult,
6. Aside, damages concealed, destroyed or and thus the overview of its financial situation creates accounting books or other documents, to whose keeping a buyer is obligated after commercial law, before expiration of the periods for safekeeping existing for record keeping-requiring difficult more difficult,
7. against the commercial law
   1. It sets up balances in such a way that the overview of its financial situation is made more difficult, or
   2. it omits setting up the balance of its fortune or the inventory in the prescribed time or
8. in another, which requirements of a normal economy roughly contradicting way its financial situation reduced or its conceals or masks real business conditions, or by such actions insolvency or inability to pay causes.

The attempt of this passing is likewise punishable. The act presupposes resolution. Certain cases of the negligent actions and the negligent success causing are threatened after "§ 283 exp. 4 and 5 StGB with smaller punishment. Objective condition of the punishability is that the insolvency procedure was opened or rejected for lack of mass.

Related links

• "§ 283 StGB

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