French Monetary and Financial Code
In forceI.-The department referred to in Article L. 561-23 may oppose the execution of a transaction that has not yet been executed, of which it has become aware as a result of information communicated to it under Articles L. 561-15, L. 561-25, L. 561-25-1, L. 561-27, L. 561-28 and L. 561-29. This objection may also be extended, in advance, to the execution of any other transaction linked to that which was the subject of the report or information and relating to the sums entered in the books of the person mentioned in Article L. 561-2 responsible for these transactions. This person shall receive notification of his objection from the department referred to in Article L. 561-23.
In such cases, provided that it is possible to postpone their execution under conditions defined by decree, the transactions are postponed for a period of ten working days from the day on which the objection is notified. However, where the transaction is the payment of a cheque, this period runs from the date on which the beneficiary bank presents the cheque for payment to the drawee bank.
The President of the Paris Court of First Instance may, at the request of the department referred to in Article L. 561-23 and after obtaining the opinion of the public prosecutor of that court, extend the time limit provided for in the second paragraph of this Article or order the temporary sequestration of the funds, accounts or securities concerned by the declaration. The public prosecutor may submit an application for the same purpose. The order granting the request is enforceable on the original before any notification to the person mentioned in Article L. 561-2 in charge of the operations.
Postponed operations may be carried out if the department has not notified an objection or if, at the end of the period opened by the notification of the objection, no decision of the President of the Paris Judicial Court has been received by the person referred to in Article L. 561-2 in charge of the operations.
The person responsible for the operations referred to in the first paragraph may not, under penalty of the sanctions provided for in Article L. 574-1, bring to the knowledge of any person the information resulting from the exercise by the department referred to in Article L. 561-23 of the right of objection provided for in the same paragraph.
II.Subject to the provisions ofarticle 44 of law no. 78-17 of 6 January 1978, it is forbidden, under penalty of the sanctions provided for in article L. 574-1, for managers and employees of financial organisations, the persons mentioned in article L. 561-2, the President of the Ordre des Avocats au Conseil d'Etat et à la Cour de Cassation or the President of the Bar Association with which the lawyer is registered, to inform the originator of the transactions or third parties, other than the supervisory authorities, professional orders and national representative bodies mentioned in I of Article L. 561-36, of the existence of the objection provided for in the first paragraph of I.
By way of derogation from the first paragraph of this II, only in cases where civil, commercial or criminal liability proceedings are brought against the persons mentioned in the same first paragraph, the latter may reveal to the judicial authority or to officers of the judicial police acting under delegation that the department mentioned in Article L. 561-23 has notified its objection pursuant to the first paragraph of I of this Article. In this case, the judicial authority or the judicial police officers may request confirmation from this department.
III - Where one or more operations are not carried out following the exercise of the objection provided for in the first paragraph of I, the person responsible for the operations is released from all liability.
IV -A decree of the Conseil d'Etat shall lay down the terms and conditions for the application of this article.
