Introduction

Matrix organization

Mergers by absorption

Risks related to the expansion of the scope of criminal liability of legal entities

Validity conditions

Proof of delegation

Exemption from individual liability of delegator

Attribution of offense to legal entity

Delegations of authority

Criminal risk management within business organizations

Complicity in crimes against humanity

Breaches of secrecy

Personal data breaches

Theft

Extortion

Blackmail

Fraud

Misappropriation

Receiving/concealment of unlawfully obtained property (recel)

Attacks on automated data processing systems

Money laundering

Misappropriation by public official (concussion)

Corruption and influence peddling

Unlawful acquisition of an interest

Favoritism

Forgery and use of forgeries

Violation of Criminal Code

Offenses under the Monetary and Financial Code

Offenses under the Commercial Code

Environmental Code violations

Offenses arising from other codes

Types of offenses

Offenses under the Criminal Code, the Commercial Code, or the Environmental Code, Criminal procedure

White Collar Crime (en cours)

Legal entities that have committed acts likely to be classified as the offense of influence peddling are also subject, under Article 433-26 of the Criminal Code, to the penalty of Article 131-39-2 of the Criminal Code, introduced by the Sapin II Law , which consists of the obligation to submit, for a maximum duration of five years, to a compliance program, the monitoring and implementation of whic …

Compliance order (peine de mise en conformité)

Legal entities that have committed acts likely to be classified as the offense of influence peddling are also subject, under Article 433-26 of the Criminal Code, to the penalty of Article 131-39-2 of the Criminal Code, introduced by the Sapin II Law , which consists of the obligation to submit, for a maximum duration of five years, to a compliance program, the monitoring and implementation of which is entrusted to the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA).

The compliance order penalty is intended to apply to public legal entities, as well as private legal entities, regardless of their size, legal form, sector of activity, or nationality. The scope of this penalty is not limited to the framework of Article 17 of the Sapin II Law, meaning it is not restricted to only those undertakings with at least five hundred employees, or belonging to a group of companies whose parent company has its registered office in France and whose workforce includes at least five hundred employees, and whose turnover or consolidated turnover exceeds EUR 100 million.

The acts constituting active public influence peddling by private individuals involving national public officials under Article 433-2 of the Criminal Code, active public influence peddling aimed at directing the actions of a public official in a foreign state or within an international public organization under Article 435-4, and active private influence peddling under Article 433-2  are targeted.

If Article 131-39-2 of the Criminal Code caps the duration of the compliance order penalty at five years, a circular dated 31 January 2018  specifies that it is possible to terminate it early, by a reasoned decision of the sentence enforcement judge, upon the requisitions of the public prosecutor, when three cumulative conditions are met: the penalty has been executed for at least one year, the reports submitted to the public prosecutor indicate that the convicted legal entity has implemented appropriate measures and procedures to prevent and detect acts of influence peddling, and finally, no further monitoring appears necessary.

Furthermore, Article 764-44, paragraph 1, of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides that upon the expiration of the execution period of the measure, the AFA is required to send a report to the public prosecutor. Indeed, the non-execution or poor execution of this compliance order, which is assessed, when this penalty has been imposed on a company falling within the scope of Article 17 of the Sapin II Law, in light of the measures and procedures already implemented under this law, constitutes a new offense, provided for in Article 434-43-1 of the Criminal Code, which punishes both the convicted legal entity and its natural person organs or representatives. According to this article, natural persons may face up to two years of imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 EUR. Legal entities also face this fine, which may be increased to the amount of the fine incurred for the offense for which they were convicted and which led to the compliance order, as well as all other penalties imposed. Both natural persons and legal entities also face the additional penalty of posting or disseminating the decision.

Law No 2016-1691 of 9 December 2016 on transparency, the fight against corruption, and the modernization of economic life, known as the Sapin II Law, Art. 18.

Circular from the Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardons regarding the presentation and implementation of the criminal provisions provided by Law No 2016-1691 of 9 December 2016 on transparency, the fight against corruption, and the modernization of economic life CRIM/2018-01/G3 of 31 January 2018.

White Collar Crime (en cours)

133. Compliance order (peine de mise en conformité)

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Les notions juridiques connexes

133. Compliance order (peine de mise en conformité)

Demandez un accès gratuit au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise

Les notions juridiques connexes

Demandez un accès gratuit
au contenu exclusif Livv – juristes d’entreprise