Various regulatory agencies have the power to initiate torts against companies or individuals who are violating the law in addition to making criminal complaint

Various regulatory agencies have the power to initiate torts against companies or individuals who are violating the law in addition to making criminal complaints. In most cases, a regulatory action is civil and not criminal. Your company dumped chemicals in a river that you knew probably were bad for the fish? The company will get hit with a civil action. It is possible that the specific person who decided upon this course of action or knowingly helped out will face individual criminal charges, but in most cases corporations do not face criminal charges.