#White collar crime
Presumption of real estate money laundering: the Paris public prosecutor secures judicial approval in the first case
In a judgment of 5 May 2026, the Paris Criminal Court upheld the application of a presumption of real estate money laundering, allowing for the confiscation of assets whose owners cannot prove the lawful origin of the funds, without establishing the predicate offence. Three defendants of Serbian origin were thus found guilty of aggravated money laundering. They were sentenced to two to three years’ imprisonment, mostly suspended with probation, along with the immediate confiscation of their assets. At issue were a house and three buildings located in Seine-Saint-Denis, with a total estimated value of €1.8 million, while the defendants reported low or non-existent declared income and were unable to justify the lawful origin of the funds used for their acquisition. The defense had raised the issue of the statute of limitations and the principle that stricter criminal laws cannot be applied retroactively; the court upheld this argument, although it had no practical consequences for the defendants. An appeal has been filed. > Read the article.
The bill against social security and tax fraud adopted at second reading by the National Assembly
The bill relating to the fight against social security and tax fraud was adopted at second reading by the French National Assembly on 5 May 2026, following deliberations of the joint parliamentary committee. The text was substantially expanded during the parliamentary debates and now comprises 140 articles aimed at strengthening mechanisms for the detection, sanctioning and recovering losses from social security and tax fraud. The main measures include enhanced information-sharing among social security agencies, establishing a “social flagrante delicto” procedure allowing for the seizure of assets in cases of concealed work, and suspending certain benefits in the event of suspected fraud. The balance of the reform has nevertheless been criticized by several members of Parliament, some considering that the legislation places greater emphasis on social security fraud at the expense of tax fraud. Senators are set to make a final decision on the bill on 11 May 2026. Referrals to the French Conseil constitutionnel are being considered. > Read the article.
Anti-Money laundering: the legal profession finalizes its new system for monitoring compliance with its obligations
On 10 April 2026, the French National Bar Council (CNB) adopted a draft decree aimed at establishing a new system for monitoring compliance with anti-money laundering obligations. This draft provides for the implementation of a mandatory annual assessment, to which each bar association will have access. These assessments will determine which firms must be audited on-site and through document review. The bar association may then request that the National Oversight Commission appoint an external auditor – who is not a member of the audited firm’s bar association and is bound by confidentiality – to conduct the audit. The bar association’s council will decide, based on the report submitted to it, on the appropriate follow-up actions. Several points of contention are worth noting. One of these specifically concerned the scenario in which bar association councils would fail to appoint an auditor despite an identified high risk situation. The Compliance Committee of the Conference of Bar Presidents proposed a “name and shame” mechanism to expose bar associations that fail to meet their obligations. Following lengthy debates, this proposal was abandoned in favor of granting the National Supervisory Commission a subsidiary power of self-referral and the ability to initiate on-site and documentary audits. The draft was forwarded to the Ministry of Justice. > Read the article.
#Arbitration and Mediation
Ireland Withdraws from the ECT
On 17 April, Ireland initiated the process of withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty, citing in particular, concerns regarding its compatibility with climate change objectives, as well as the European Commission’s call for a coordinated withdrawal from the Treaty by European Union (EU) Member States. The Charter is also being invoked by an Irish investor before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) to initiate arbitration proceedings against Germany regarding changes to regulations governing offshore wind projects. In September, the EU approved an agreement stipulating that the investor-state arbitration clause of the Treaty could not serve as a legal basis for intra-EU investment arbitration, in light of the Komstroy ruling issued in 2021 by the Court of Justice of the EU. In late 2024, amendments were adopted by the Treaty’s signatories to exclude its application within the EU. Slovakia was the first country to ratify these amendments in March 2026. > Read the article.
