#White collar crime:

Pass Culture: Investigation Expands to Former CNC President Over Possible Conflict of Interest

The investigation against Éric Garandeau, former president of the CNC and co-creator of the Pass Culture program, has been expanded to include allegations of illegal taking of interest, following a report by the not-for-profit organization Anticor. Anticor alleges that Mr. Garandeau held decision-making positions while his company benefited from subcontracts related to the Pass Culture project. Since late 2023, the Parquet national financier (“PNF”) had been investigating acts of favoritism, misappropriation of public funds, and concealment by Mr. Garandeau for using a company he owned as a subcontractor for the Pass Culture project. In June 2024, the Ministry of Culture, the Interministerial Digital Department and Mr. Garandeau’s home were searched. Mr. Garandeau denies all charges.> Read article

Money Laundering: Twitter Founder’s Fintech Fined $40 Million

The New York State Department of Financial Services has fined the company Block US$ 40 million for serious shortcomings in its anti-money laundering efforts via its plateform Cash App. The investigation revealed an inadequate compliance system, exposing the company to criminal exploitation risks, particularly involving bitcoin transactions. According to the Department of Financial Services, despite rapid growth, Block failed to adjust its compliance policies accordingly, resulting in significant delays in responding to transaction alerts, many of which went unanswered for extended periods. While the company did not admit to the allegations, it stated it is “happy to move forward.” This penalty comes on top of over US$ 250 million already paid by other fintechs since January. > Read article

Hospital suicides: a complaint against Borne and Vautrin “to obtain France Télécom case law”

Two ministers, Catherine Vautrin and Élisabeth Borne, are the subject of a complaint filed at the French Court of Justice of the Republic by members of the medical staff and relatives of hospitalized patients, accusing them of moral harassment, manslaughter, intentional violence leading to unintentional death, and endangerment. The complaint alleges that these acts are the result of public policies regarding public hospitals and related working conditions and seeks to have the ministers condemned for institutional moral harassment following the recent France Télécom ruling by the Court of Cassation. > Read article

#Anti-Bribery and Corruption:

Anticor: the State should have restored the not-for-profit organization’s accreditation by December 2023, according to the courts

In a decision delivered on 14 April 2025, the Paris Administrative Court overturned the government’s implicit refusal to renew the not-for-profit organization Anticor’s accreditation. This ministerial approval, which enables the organization to exercise the rights of a civil party in legal proceedings concerning corruption, had been withdrawn by a previous decision handed down by the same court in June 2023. However, the administrative judges ruled that Anticor had once again met the conditions required to obtain this approval in December 2024, so that the government’s refusal was illegal. The association’s approval was finally renewed in June 2024. > Read article