Bankruptcy Law

Article L. 654-9 of the Commercial Code punishes certain offenses committed by third parties with a five-year prison sentence and a EUR 75,000 fine. The court may also impose additional penalties, such as a management ban .
The text punishes the act, in the interest of the persons mentioned in Article L. 654-1 , of removing, concealing or hiding all or part of their movable or immovable assets, th …

Offenses committed by third parties

Article L. 654-9 of the Commercial Code punishes certain offenses committed by third parties with a five-year prison sentence and a EUR 75,000 fine. The court may also impose additional penalties, such as a management ban .

The text punishes the act, in the interest of the persons mentioned in Article L. 654-1 , of removing, concealing or hiding all or part of their movable or immovable assets, these assets being, if the person is a limited liability sole trader or a sole trader covered by the status defined in Articles L. 526-1 of the Commercial Code, those of the assets covered by the procedure. The offense of concealment of bankruptcy is characterized in the person of the beneficiary of the funds embezzled by the accused . A financial advisor commits the offense of concealment of bankruptcy by misappropriation of assets, when he enables the manager of a SARL, who has no funds of his own and no cash, to obtain approval for a management lease of a business, in order to continue his personal business activity, by shielding his assets from creditor proceedings, under cover of unjustified fees .

Similarly, the misappropriation, diversion or concealment of assets belonging to a debtor undergoing receivership or court-supervised liquidation proceedings, by the spouse, descendants, ascendants, collaterals or relatives of the persons mentioned in Article L. 654-1, is punishable by five years' imprisonment and a fine of EUR 375,000 .

Article L. 654-9, 2° also makes it a criminal offense for any person to fraudulently declare supposed claims in safeguard, receivership or court-supervised liquidation proceedings, either in his or her own name or through the interposition of another person. The text also punishes any person carrying on a commercial, craft or agricultural activity, or any other independent activity, under the name of another person or under a supposed name, in bad faith, with a view to shielding all or part of their assets from the proceedings of the legal entity which has been the subject of a court ruling opening a safeguard, receivership or liquidation, or from those of the partners or creditors of the legal entity, to misappropriate or conceal, or attempt to misappropriate or conceal, all or part of their assets, or to fraudulently obtain recognition as the debtor of sums they did not owe.

Lastly, any agreement entered into by a creditor after the court ruling initiating safeguard, receivership or liquidation proceedings, involving a particular advantage for the debtor, is punishable by five years' imprisonment and a fine of EUR 375,000 .

C. com., art. L. 654-1: "1° Natural persons engaged in a commercial or craft activity, farmers and any other natural person engaged in an independent professional activity, including a liberal profession subject to a legislative or regulatory statute or whose title is protected;

2° Natural persons who are de jure or de facto managers of legal entities;

3° Natural persons, permanent representatives of legal entities, managers of legal entities defined in 2°".

Cass. crim., 5 August 1998, LawLex202200010837JBJ (RJ).

Cass. crim., 30 January 1995, LawLex202200010840JBJ (RJ).

Bankruptcy Law

1044. Offenses committed by third parties

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1044. Offenses committed by third parties

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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