FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Thierry Marembert, Cécile Labarbe, Aaron Bass and Céline Serpagli, Kiejman & Marembert
The misappropriation of public funds (embezzlement) is punishable by ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of EUR1 million, which may be increased to EUR2 million or twice the proceeds of the offence when the offence is committed by an organised gang (432-15 FCC). The unlawful taking of interest committed by per - sons exercising a public function is punishable by five years’ imprisonment and a fine of EUR500,000, which may be increased to twice the proceeds of the offence (432-12 FCC). The granting of an unjustified advantage in the con - text of public procurement or concession contracts (“favouritism”) is punishable by two years imprison - ment and a EUR200,000 fine, which may be increased to twice the amount of the proceeds (432-14 FCC). With regard to accounting and false documents, for - gery and use of forged documents are punishable by three years’ imprisonment and a fine of EUR45,000 (441-1 FCC), while forgery of public or authentic docu - ments can result in up to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of EUR150,000 (441-4 FCC). Furthermore, the deliberate omission of entries or the making of inac - curate or fictitious entries in accounting documents intended to defraud the tax authorities is punishable by five years’ imprisonment and a fine of EUR500,000 (amount which may be doubled to the proceeds of the offence), and seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of EUR3 million (which may be doubled to the proceeds of the offence) in case of organised crime or the use of specific fraudulent means (1743 GTC, 1741 GTC). Finally, legal entities found guilty of these offences are liable to a fine of up to five times the amount applica - ble to individuals, as well as various additional penal - ties such as dissolution, prohibition from directly or indirectly carrying out certain activities, placement under judicial supervision, closure of establishments, or confiscation of property used to commit the offence or constituting the proceeds thereof (131-38 FCC, 131-39 FCC). 5.2 Guidelines Applicable to the Assessment of Penalties There is no minimum sentence for crimes against integrity. Judges are free to determine the sentence
within the limits set out in each article of the Criminal Code. Repeat Offences The Criminal Code contains provisions on repeat offences. When a natural person who has already been con - victed of a serious crime or offence commits a new offence within a certain period of time, the maximum prison sentence and fine are doubled. This doubling applies within ten years if the new offence is punish - able by ten years’ imprisonment, within five years if it is punishable by a sentence of between one and ten years, or when it is the same offence or a simi - lar offence according to the rules on repeat offences (132-9 and 132-10 of the Criminal Code). In addition, when a legal entity that has already been convicted commits a new offence within a certain period of time, the maximum applicable fine is dou - bled. This doubling applies if the new offence is com - mitted within ten years of the previous sentence when it is punishable by the same fine, or within five years if it is punishable by a fine of more than EUR15,000, or when it is the same offence or a similar offence according to the rules on repeat offences (132-13 and 132-14 of the Criminal Code). CJIP When legal entities enter public interest judicial agree - ment (CJIP), the fine, which is set in proportion to the benefits derived from the breaches found, may not exceed 30% of the average annual turnover, calcu - lated on the basis of the last three annual turnovers. The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office has issued guidelines which touch upon the assessment of these fines and lists the mitigating and aggravating factors which may be taken into account (see 7.4 Discretion for Mitigation and Aggravation ). 6. Disclosure Processes 6.1 Disclosure Obligations There is no general duty for individuals or companies to report bribery and corruption violations.
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