#White collar crime:
CumCum: HSBC agrees to pay a €267 million fine for dividend tax fraud in France
The British bank HSBC has entered into a Judicial Public Interest Agreement (Convention judiciaire d’intérêt public or “CJIP”) with the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, thereby bringing to an end the criminal proceedings for aggravated tax fraud relating to the “CumCum” scheme. Approved on 8 January by the Paris court, following a similar agreement concluded by Cacib, a subsidiary of Crédit Agricole, the agreement characterises the systemic fraudulent practices carried out in France between 2014 and 2019. The investigation identified a structured internal organisation aimed at facilitating dividend tax avoidance in France for non-resident clients in exchange for commissions. The CJIP brings the proceedings to an end without a criminal trial together with an acknowledgement of the facts by HSBC. > Read article
Marine Le Pen declared ineligible even before her appeal trial: should the principle of provisional enforcement be reconsidered?
In an interview published on 11 January 2026 by Ouest-France, Vincent Filhol, partner at Navacelle, and Paul Cassia, professor of public law, discuss the criteria applied by judges when ruling on the provisional enforcement of an ineligibility sentence. The interview also addresses the differing legal regimes applicable to local and national elected officials, as well as the conditions justifying the immediate enforcement of ineligibility. In this respect, Vincent Filhol recalls that the French Constitutional Council’s (Conseil Constitutionnel) decisions of 28 March and 5 December 2025 have provided guidance to judges. In particular, they must assess the proportionality of the measure in light of the circumstances of the offence, the elected official’s personal, material and social situation, and its impact on voters’ freedom. > Read article
Two men, regarded as the main players of a €30 million insider-trading operation, plead guilty in Paris
On Tuesday 13 January, before the 32nd Financial division of the Paris Criminal Court, a former company manager and a former banker acknowledged responsibility, during a plea-bargaining hearing, for two insider dealing offences involving a total amount of €30 million. In November 2015, while the defendants’ prepaid mobile phones were lawfully intercepted, one of them disclosed to the other the identity, price and timing of a forthcoming takeover bid. A few days later, the bid was disclosed by Bloomberg, triggering a rise in the share price. While the financial prosecutor described the case as a “textbook example”, considering the intercepted communications to constitute “perfect evidence” of insider dealing, the defendants maintained that their conduct was driven by access to inside information rather than by the pursuit of financial gain. > Read article
#Ethics and Compliance:
Ordinance of 5 January 2026 on the distance marketing of financial services to consumers
Ordinance No. 2026-2 of 5 January 2026 transposes into French law the EU Directive 2023/2673 of 22 November 2023 on distance contracts for financial services, in the context of the digital transformation of marketing practices. The ordinance notably seeks to strengthen consumer protection by introducing enhanced pre-contractual transparency requirements and easing the conditions for exercising the right of withdrawal. It also provides for stricter rules governing contracts concluded by telephone. In addition, the text grants the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution) the power to impose administrative sanctions for breaches of the new obligations. Most of the provisions of the ordinance will enter into force on 19 June 2026. > Read article
