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)

Receiving/concealing stolen property constitutes an intentional offense, the moral element of which  consists of knowledge of the fraudulent origin of the goods or property. Both in the context of possession of stolen goods and benefiting from stolen goods, it is necessary that the defendant knew the illicit or criminal origin of the good or product from which they benefited . However, it is not r …

Moral element

Receiving/concealing stolen property constitutes an intentional offense, the moral element of which  consists of knowledge of the fraudulent origin of the goods or property. Both in the context of possession of stolen goods and benefiting from stolen goods, it is necessary that the defendant knew the illicit or criminal origin of the good or product from which they benefited . However, it is not required that an agent was aware of the circumstances of the original offense : mere knowledge of the fraudulent origin suffices, even when the circumstances of the original offense are themselves undetermined . Similarly, it is not required that they derived personal profit from the goods or products concealed .

The good or bad faith of the receiver is assessed by the trial courts in a sovereign manner ; their intent is inferred from all the factual circumstances, and their good faith will be dismissed when it results from the facts of the case that the receiver could not have any doubt about the fraudulent origin of the goods . Thus,knowledge of the fraudulent origin of a vehicle can be inferred from its acquisition at an abnormally low price, the payment of this price in cash, and the receiver's unwillingness to reveal the seller's identity . Similarly, the fraudulent nature of the origin of furniture and objects cannot escape the buyer when the hand-over took place on a highway rest area or public road or under highly suspicious conditions . The defendant in the receiving of stolen goods cannot ignore the fraudulent origin of the valuable old materials brought repeatedly by supposed “scrap dealers”  and which they partially paid in cash.

The professional status of the defendant imposes a presumption of bad faith on that person. Indeed, good faith is excluded when, given their professional qualities and skills, they cannot ignore the fraudulent origin of the concealed goods . This is the case for the owner of an art gallery, who could not ignore the theft of a painting in their possession, especially when the collection to which this work belongs has a worldwide reputation that the art market cannot ignore , or for the antique dealer who receives very rare items from a “casual collector” and has not verified the authenticity of their provenance . The same applies to automotive professionals who could not ignore the fraudulent origin of vehicles with multiple disguises , the company director who knew the fraudulent nature of the fundraising mechanism for which they determined the amount , the deputy director who could not ignore the fraudulent origin of the money payments they received as bonuses , or the lawyer who received from their client, implicated in fraud, a check without an order established by one of the victims of these actions .

However, case law requires that the knowledge of the fraudulent origin of the goods, and thus, the bad faith, exist from the outset, prior to possession, and not subsequently, during possession. 

Cass. crim., 5 April 2006, LawLex202200005937JBJ.

Cass. crim., 24 April 2013, LawLex202200001558JBJ, 16 December 1997, LawLex202200001559JBJ.

Cass. crim., 4 June 1998, LawLex202200005939JBJ.

Cass. crim., 5 May 1993, LawLex202200009837JBJ.

Cass. crim., 13 June 1996, LawLex202200005940JBJ.

Cass. crim., 16 December 1997, LawLex202200001559JBJ.

Cass. crim., 11 March 2015, LawLex202200009836JBJ.

Cass. crim., 11 February 2009, LawLex202200009826JBJ.

Cass. crim., 24 January 1978, LawLex202200005943JBJ.

Cass. crim., 6 June 1996, LawLex202200005938JBJ.

Cass. crim, 27 October 1997, LawLex200400001327JBJ.

The purchaser of movable property cannot, however, be declared guilty of recel when the regularity of possession and the good faith of this purchaser imply the fulfillment of the conditions for the application of Article 2278, para. 1, of the Civil Code. Cass. crim., 24 November 1977, LawLex202200001563JBJ,.

Cass. crim., 10 May 2005, LawLex202200005946JBJ.

Cass. crim., 9 May 2018, LawLex202200001562JBJ.

Cass. crim., 25 June 2013, LawLex202200005941JBJ.

Cass. crim., 28 January 2014, LawLex202200001561JBJ.

Cass. crim., 26 June 2018, LawLex202200006174JBJ.

White Collar Crime (en cours)

93. Moral element

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

Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

93. Moral element

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

Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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