{"id":4349,"date":"2017-12-01T11:27:28","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T10:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/braun-avocat.com\/abus-de-biens-sociaux-1\/"},"modified":"2023-12-14T17:58:34","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T16:58:34","slug":"abuse-of-corporate-assets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/braun-avocat.com\/en\/abuse-of-corporate-assets\/","title":{"rendered":"Abuse of corporate assets"},"content":{"rendered":"

Definition of abuse of corporate assets<\/h2>\n

The offence of abuse of corporate assets <\/strong> is a form of <\/span>misappropriation of assets<\/strong>, first sanctioned by the decree-laws of August 8 and October 30, 1935. This offence does not appear in <\/strong><\/span>the Penal Code<\/strong> but is nevertheless a criminal offence<\/strong>. It is codified in articles L.241-3 and L.242-6 of the Commercial Code, since the law of July 24, 1966.<\/span><\/p>\n

This offence, intended to remedy the shortcomings of the repressive system revealed during political and financial scandals has become the most well-known offence in business law<\/strong>, and is widely covered by the media <\/strong>today.<\/span><\/p>\n

The offense of abuse of corporate assets is constituted when the director of a commercial company (SAS, SARL, etc.) knowingly uses the assets of this company for personal purposes, contrary to the company’s interest<\/strong>. The company’s interest must be understood as the interest of the company in question, therefore an infringement of this company’s interest is constituted as soon as there is impoverishment <\/strong>of the company or renunciation of an enrichment.<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

This criminal offense applies only to the directors of these companies and is characterized by a voluntary action or omission that is detrimental to the interests of the company.<\/span><\/p>\n

For non-trading companies <\/strong> (notably <\/span>SCIs<\/span>) and associations <\/strong><\/span> under the 1901 law<\/strong>, the offense of abuse of corporate assets does not exist, and other offenses <\/strong>such as the offense of breach of trust<\/a> may apply.<\/span><\/p>\n

The abuse of corporate assets can be illustrated in different ways<\/strong>\u00a0: for <\/span>example<\/span>, a manager who grants himself an excessive remuneration<\/strong> in relation to the work he provides, payments made in remuneration of fictitious services<\/strong>, the fact of having the company bear personal<\/strong> expenses (travels…)…<\/span><\/p>\n

In order for the offense of abuse of corporate assets to be constituted, it is necessary that the bad faith of the director be demonstrated<\/strong>. It is considered that the director is acting in bad faith when he acts in his personal interest<\/strong> or in the interest of a company<\/strong> or an association<\/strong> in which he has a direct interest<\/strong>, while being aware that his act is detrimental to his company<\/strong>. This bad faith may result from the voluntary concealment<\/strong> of some of his acts or from the falsification<\/strong> of documents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alexandre-M. BRAUN<\/strong>, <\/span>as a lawyer<\/span>, assists his clients who are victims of corporate misuse<\/strong> throughout the procedure, <\/span>until the compensation is paid<\/span>. He accompanies those who wish to file a complaint <\/a> for this offense and uses his skills to demonstrate the bad faith of the accused manager <\/strong> and the damage caused to the company<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Similarly, he defends the accused managers <\/strong> and endeavors to demonstrate the absence of elements constituting the offense<\/strong>, while verifying the regularity of the procedure<\/strong> and the respect of their rights and individual liberties.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is the penalty?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Misuse of corporate assets<\/strong> is an offense punishable under Articles L.241-3 and L.242-6 of the French Commercial Code. These articles punish this offense with a maximum of 5 years imprisonment <\/strong> and a fine of up to 375,000 euros<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> statute of limitations<\/strong> for this offense is set forth in Article 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides that the public prosecution of offenses is statute-barred after six years from the date on which the offense was committed<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Who can bring this action?<\/span><\/h2>\n

A partner<\/strong> who has been the victim of an abuse of corporate assets by his manager may bring a civil action<\/strong> by exercising the<\/span> ut singuli action<\/span><\/i> when he believes that he has been harmed by the criminal acts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alexandre-M. BRAUN<\/strong> advises its clients on the appropriateness of bringing such an action by <\/span>denouncing<\/strong> an abuse of corporate assets<\/strong> and assists them throughout this procedure.<\/span><\/p>\n

The legal representative of the abused company<\/strong>, who can be the new director or the new manager, can exercise the social action <\/span>ut universi<\/span><\/i> against the former director. This action is also available to the liquidator<\/strong> when the company is in judicial liquidation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, Alexandre-M. BRAUN assists its clients in the <\/span>ut universi<\/span><\/i> action against a former director <\/strong> who is guilty of misuse of corporate assets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conversely, a civil action for abuse of corporate assets is not admissible<\/strong> when a personal prejudice distinct<\/strong> from that of the company is not demonstrated: the Court of Cassation recalled this for a partner <\/strong> (Cass. crim, The Court of Cassation has reiterated this for a partner (Cass. crim., February 25, 2014, n\u00b012-85.693), for creditors <\/strong> (Cass. crim., April 24, 1971, n\u00b069-93.249), for a works council<\/strong> (Cass. crim., June 7, 1983, n\u00b083-91.210) and for employees<\/strong>, even for moral prejudice <\/strong>(Cass. crim., March 23, 2005, n\u00b004-84.756).<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The abuse of corporate assets<\/strong>, an emblematic offence of the criminal business law, punishes the appropriation of the assets of a commercial company by its directors<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","neve_meta_reading_time":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-criminal-law"],"yoast_head":"\nLawyer Abuse of corporate assets • Criminal lawyer in Paris<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Abuse of corporate assets • Me Alexandre-M. 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