SANTO DOMINGO. - The new Penal Code of the Dominican Republic , promulgated last Sunday by President Luis Abinader and which will come into effect in August 2026, establishes severe penalties for cases of real estate fraud .
According to the penal framework, crimes that affect real estate will be considered as "aggravated" , a new classification that does not exist in the current code, which has been in force in the country since 1884.
Article 238 of the new Penal Code establishes that “aggravated fraud will be punished with five to ten years of imprisonment and a fine of ten to twenty minimum wages in the public sector.”.
According to the approved code, which is contained in Law 74-25, fraud —which consists of deceiving another person through fraudulent maneuvers or the use of a false identity— can be punished with three to five years of minor imprisonment in general.
This represents a change from the current regulations, which establish penalties of six months to two years in prison for fraud, without differentiating between specific types or aggravating factors.
Furthermore, Article 239 addresses collective frauds , which occur when someone, either independently or on behalf of others, appeals to the public to raise funds with the intention of deceiving.
“Anyone who appeals to the public, whether on their own behalf or as a real or supposed manager or employee in a company or entity, public or private, to obtain the delivery of securities or funds, the issuance of securities or to collect funds for social aid purposes, commits collective fraud,” the legal text states.
The regulatory framework will punish these behaviors with prison sentences of five to ten years and fines equivalent to ten to twenty minimum wages in the public sector.
A step towards modern justice
On Sunday, August 3, the President of the Republic promulgated the new Dominican Penal Code, after decades of failed attempts to update the system.
“This update provides the Dominican penal system with modern tools to confront crime in all its forms, including organized crime, and to guarantee the effective protection of victims, in accordance with the principles of a social and democratic state governed by the rule of law,” the Presidency announced in a statement.
They also stated that, with the promulgation of the new code, the country will be leaving behind an "anachronistic" regulatory framework to give way to a modern justice model.
