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)

Money laundering is an intent-based offense. When a lie is used to justify the fraudulent origin of funds . Where an individual assists in an operation involving the placement, concealment or conversion of funds, they are deemed to have been aware that the operation in which they assisted involved the direct or indirect proceeds of a previously committed offense . This is the case of the defendant …

Moral element

Money laundering is an intent-based offense. When a lie is used to justify the fraudulent origin of funds . Where an individual assists in an operation involving the placement, concealment or conversion of funds, they are deemed to have been aware that the operation in which they assisted involved the direct or indirect proceeds of a previously committed offense . This is the case of the defendant who received funds into his bank account, in concert with his brother whose actions he was aware of, knowing that these funds came from the illegal activities of his brother's company with which he had no apparent connection .

The moral element is often inferred by trial courts from a body of evidence and factual circumstances. Thus, the intent is established against the defendant, who, living in the same city as the perpetrator of the original offense, could not have been unaware of the latter's fraudulent activities  or the individual who, thanks to significant sums deposited into his account by his partner, acquires a jointly owned property, while being fully aware of his partner's legal situation being prosecuted for fraud, as well as the couple's financial situation . Similarly, the defendant's profession may allow the courts to establish the moral element of money laundering , especially when there is a breach of professional obligations: this is the case for the banker, who cannot ignore the fraudulent nature of the funds that have passed through the accounts he managed , for the one who has previously operated several businesses and necessarily knows the tax obligations arising from a commercial activity , and for the notary, who formalizes the sale in favor of the partner of an international drug trafficker, while being aware that certain documents were falsified and knowing the nature of the funds with which the acquisition was planned .

In all cases, it is not required that the perpetrator of money laundering precisely knows the nature of the original crime or offense . Mere awareness of the illicit nature of the funds is sufficient , which may result from the closeness of the ties between the defendant and the perpetrator of the main offense .

Cass. crim., 25 June 2003, LawLex202200006827JBJ, who adds that failing to establish knowledge of the criminal origin and to specify the elements of the principal offense, money laundering is not established.

Cass. crim., 7 April 2004, LawLex202200006655JBJ; 25 June 2003, LawLex202200006827JBJ.

Cass. crim., 3 December 2003, LawLex202200007207JBJ.

Cass. crim., 29 March 2007, LawLex202200006706JBJ; 14 January 2009, LawLex202300001309JBJ.

Cass. crim. 20 November 2019, LawLex202300001308JBJ.

Cass. crim., 29 March 2007, LawLex202200006706JBJ.

Cass. crim., 26 October 2016, LawLex202200001564JBJik.

Cass. crim., 26 January 2005, LawLex202200007253JBJ; 25 October 2017, LawLex202300001225JBJ, for a real estate professional; 20 November 2019, LawLex202300001308JBJ, for a criminal lawyer; 20 April 2017, LawLex202300001226JBJ, for a de jure manager.

Cass. crim., 8 April 2010, LawLex202200007367JBJ; 19 June 2024, LawLex202400004566JBJ.

Cass. crim. 7 May 2019, LawLex202300001311JBJ.

Cass. crim., 7 December 1995, LawLex202200007119JBJ.

It is sufficient, to characterize the offense of money laundering, to establish that its perpetrator was aware of the fraudulent origin of the funds and not the exact nature of the original offenses: Cass.crim., 18 January 2017, LawLex20230000463JBJ; 20 May 2015, LawLex202200009919JBJ.

White Collar Crime (en cours)

106. 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

106. 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