Are Bearer Shares Legal in France
2.9 What other types of sanctions may be imposed on natural and legal persons in addition to fines and penalties? 2.1 Which legal or administrative authorities support the imposition of anti-money laundering requirements on financial institutions and other businesses? Please provide details of these anti-money laundering requirements. 3.12 Is ownership of legal entities in the form of bearer shares permitted? registered shareholders are systematically summoned to annual general meetings and do not have to complete any prior formalities for the certification of the shareholding in order to be able to register and vote (announcement of the meeting, voting form, postal voting form, admission ticket and request for legal information documents). For both points of the crime, the government must prove that the defendant knew the illegal origin of the property. It is not necessary to prove that the defendant had knowledge of the predicate offence or the specific offence from which the profits were laundered. The liability of legal persons may be maintained only on the basis of acts committed by their officers, directors or representatives on their behalf. 1.1 What is the legal authority to prosecute money laundering at the national level? Both legal persons and natural persons may be prosecuted and convicted for money laundering. The burden of proof for prosecution is reduced by article 324-1-1 of the Criminal Code. According to that provision, property or income must be regarded as the direct or indirect proceeds of a criminal offence where the material, legal or financial conditions of the investment, concealment or conversion transaction can have no justification other than to conceal the origin or beneficial ownership of those assets or income. The defendant must prove that funds or assets were acquired legally.
Both the ACPR and the AMF can take corrective action. In addition, in addition to fines, the following measures may be imposed on natural and legal persons: (i) all existing non-French economic interest groups or `EIGs` which have existed since 31 September. July 2017 have legal personality, even if they are subsidiaries of French or foreign listed companies(1); Due to the administrative procedures in force, the registered form is hardly compatible with the registration of shares in a share savings plan (EEP). In the event of a criminal conviction for money laundering, the court may impose a confiscation penalty on the offender, whether a natural or legal person. All property may expire, whether movable or immovable property, including Community property. For legal entities convicted of money laundering, the maximum applicable penalty is a fine of €1,875,000. The maximum penalty for legal persons convicted of aggravated money laundering is a fine of €3,750,000. Sanctions for legal persons may also include: dissolution or prohibition of carrying out one or more social or professional activities, either permanently or for a maximum period of five years; permanent exclusion from public contracts in France or for a maximum period of five years; and the prohibition on offering securities on a permanent basis or for a maximum period of five years or on allowing their financial securities to be admitted to trading on a regulated market. Law No.
2016-1691 of 9 December 2016 introduced the Judicial Convention of Public Interest (the “CJIP”), a new type of regulation similar to the existing American Convention on Deferred Prosecutions, for legal persons accused of money laundering of proceeds of tax evasion, corruption, influence and other specific crimes. The definition of the UBO is quite broad and also refers to the general concept of French company law (for example, rules for calculating indirect participation, definition of control of the company, etc.). It may require a case-by-case analysis of complex ownership structures in the chain of custody, including the analysis of non-French shareholder agreements and non-French fiduciary or bearer shareholding structures. Processing your trading orders may take longer than bearer shares managed by online banks. The legal person may assume one or more of the following obligations: Due to the anonymity it guarantees, the ownership of legal persons in the form of bearer shares is strictly prohibited in France. The only form of ownership similar to bearer shares is called “identifiable bearer securities” and requires disclosure of the identity of the owner of the shares, which is recorded in a registry. The Public Prosecutor`s Office may make an admission of guilt if the accused, whether a natural or legal person, is accused of money laundering. The defendant must plead guilty in exchange for a reduction in sentence. The custodial sentence may in no case exceed three years, nor the amount of the fine may exceed the maximum amount incurred.
