SPRING 2020 TODAY’S GENER AL COUNSEL
Negotiated Resolution of Criminal Cases in France By Nicolas Brooke and Camille Gravis
T 38
hree years after Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) were introduced into French law, and shortly after Airbus concluded its $4 billion settlement with French, British and American authorities, it is a good time to take stock of how the French corporate criminal enforcement landscape has recently evolved. In December 2016, France adopted a new anti-corruption law known as Sapin II, which brought about a small revolution in the French criminal justice system. France equipped its prosecutorial authorities with a new instrument, the convention judiciaire d’intérêt public (CJIP), directly inspired by U.S.-style deferred prosecution agreements. CJIPs suspend the prosecution of companies in exchange for their cooperation with law enforcement authorities, the payment of a fine and the implementation of remedial measures. Since the enactment of Sapin II, nine CJIPs have been concluded in total. Six of them relate to corruption cases, and three to tax fraud. The two most significant CJIPs, involving Société Générale and Airbus, were part of joint international criminal resolutions involving a number of countries. In the Société Générale case, the $500 million fine was split in equal shares between the French Parquet National Financier (PNF) and the U.S. Nicolas Brooke is Department of Justice (DOJ). As for a Partner at Signathe Airbus case, the sanction was split ture Litigation. He between three law enforcement agencies specializes in internal as follows: 2.1 billion euros for the PNF, investigations and compliance, and ad€984 million for the U.K. Serious Fraud vises clients on whiteOffice (SFO) and €525 million for the collar crime issues, DOJ. the implementation A third case appears to have been of compliance and remedial programs, close to a similar coordinated resolution crisis management involving the French authorities. On and civil fraud matters. June 25, 2019, TechnipFMP concluded Nicolas.brooke@ a deferred prosecution agreement with signaturelitigation. com the DOJ and Brazilian authorities. The
