Business criminal lawyers
Protecting your liberty, preserving your business.
Police custody, misuse of corporate assets, fraud, corruption, tax fraud, money laundering, financial cybercrime: INFLUXIO defends executives, companies, creators and investors in Paris and Brussels, in defence and in claim, from the preliminary investigation through to enforcement, alongside our e-reputation practice and our business litigation team.
The firm defends executives, startup founders, influencers, musicians and audiovisual producers facing economic prosecutions. Confidential reply within 24 hours.
served
rating
appearances
What is the role of a Business criminal lawyer ?
A white-collar criminal lawyer assists in custody (Articles 62-2 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure), defends against misuse of corporate assets (five years and €375,000, Article L.242-6 Commercial Code), fraud (Article 313-1 Criminal Code) and corruption (Articles 435-1 et seq.). Consult one as soon as the summons or first investigative measure is served.
Our services
How we can help you.
Practical examples
Defence following a cyberattack with customer data exfiltration
A company is hit by ransomware that paralyses its systems and exfiltrates customer data. INFLUXIO coordinates the emergency legal response: notifications to authorities, preservation of evidence, negotiation under the threat of publication, criminal complaint for attack on an automated data processing system (Article 323-1 of the French Criminal Code), and defence in the criminal and civil proceedings.
Dereferencing and interim relief after a criminal reputation attack
An executive is targeted by anonymous posts combining defamation, commercial disparagement and threats. The firm secures evidence by bailiff report, files a criminal complaint for public defamation and provocation, obtains interim relief for identification of the author (Article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure) and removal of the content, and supports the reputational crisis management.
Client reviews
4.9/5 on GoogleWhat our clients say about us.
“Great responsiveness from all team members, with solutions found quickly and efficiently.”
Christ C.
“We entrusted INFLUXIO with a complex case. Their technical expertise, strategic vision and the quality of their legal briefs were decisive.”
Mia-Line C.
“We particularly appreciated the firm's professionalism, responsiveness and ability to defend our interests with conviction, while remaining measured and factual.”
Les Nouvelles A.
“I contacted this firm when launching my influencer marketing agency. Very satisfied with the quality of the work, the responsiveness and the quality of the exchanges.”
Alex E.
Contact
Contact INFLUXIO.
Would you like to schedule a meeting or get a quote?
We respond within 24 hours.
Insights
Learn more about this area.
What is a business criminal lawyer ?
Business criminal law covers all offences committed in the context of economic life and the management of companies.
It is not a self-contained code: it draws on the French Criminal Code for classic offences (fraud, breach of trust, corruption, money laundering) and on special texts such as the Commercial Code, the Monetary and Financial Code and the General Tax Code for offences specific to business (misuse of corporate assets, bankruptcy offences, market abuse, tax fraud). The business criminal lawyer represents and defends both those facing prosecution and those who are victims.
The role covers the entire criminal chain: risk analysis, securing evidence, intervening from police custody, challenging unlawful acts, drafting submissions, pleading at hearing, then enforcing the decision. The lawyer acts both in defence, to push back an accusation, and in claim, to assert the rights of a victim company.
Offences and prosecutions: understanding what is at stake.
A prosecution arises from a complaint, a report, a tax or customs audit, or the prosecutor's own initiative. Its defining feature, in business matters, is that it captures conduct often located in a grey area, at the border between skilful management and criminal fault.
The difference between a management fault, which falls under civil liability, and a misuse of corporate assets, which requires bad faith and use contrary to the corporate interest, hinges on intent and on the protected interest. The whole point of the defence is to place each act back in its economic logic.
Our firm helps you understand these subtleties, assess your chances and arbitrate between waiting, negotiation and defence in litigation.
Business criminal law and strategy: what implications for your interests ?
Criminal exposure is not an end in itself: it is a risk to be managed in service of an objective, whether obtaining an acquittal, a no-case order, a negotiated outcome, or compensation for harm suffered. Today, the stake is no longer only the sanction: any exposure, even at the investigation stage, can durably damage an executive's reputation and a company's value.
This is why we always reason in terms of result, cost and image, not procedure for procedure's sake. From Paris and Brussels, INFLUXIO prepares every criminal defence file with rigor.
Challenges of business criminal law in the digital and globalised era.
Evidence has gone digital: financial flows, electronic exchanges and online content require rigorous bailiff reports to be admissible. Offences are now committed remotely, through wire-transfer fraud, IBAN substitution or system intrusion, and the perpetrator is often concealed or based abroad.
Economic cybercrime has reshaped business criminal law: ransomware paralysing production, exfiltration of customer data, targeted phishing against finance teams, CEO fraud driven by social engineering, theft of cryptoassets, and laundering through mixers or offshore platforms.
These cases draw on articles 323-1 to 323-7 of the French Criminal Code (offences against automated data processing systems), article 313-1 on fraud (aggravated when committed in an organised group under article 313-2), article 324-1 on money laundering and, on the procedural side, the enhanced powers of the cyber units of public prosecutors' offices, the national jurisdiction against organised crime (JUNALCO) in Paris and, for financial flows, the Parquet national financier.
The cross-border dimension complicates court jurisdiction, mutual criminal assistance, cooperation with Europol and Eurojust, and the freezing and recovery of assets, including cryptoassets. These challenges make joint mastery of criminal law and digital law more decisive than ever.
A business criminal case is won first by strategy and evidence, before being won at hearing.
Our know-how.
A procedure mishandled can compromise a perfectly well-founded defence. Our firm, based in Paris and Brussels, assists you at every step: analysis, evidence, defence and enforcement.
Defending executives, companies and creators.
Company, executive, startup founder or creator, we represent you in defence and in claim, before criminal courts, with the same demand for precise submissions and clear strategy, for the natural person as for the legal entity.
Defence strategy and building evidence.
Before acting, we secure evidence, via bailiff report or, if needed, a measure of investigation ordered before any trial under article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure, then we arbitrate the most effective avenue, from filing a complaint to negotiating an outcome.
Enforcement of decisions and protection of reputation.
Obtaining a decision is not enough. We implement enforcement measures and recovery of damages, including in a cross-border Franco-Belgian context, and protect the executive's image during and after the proceedings, in connection with our e-reputation practice.
Business criminal law: who we defend.
INFLUXIO defends in business criminal law the actors that make up the firm's DNA: new technologies, creative industries, attention and influence economy. Our submissions and defence strategy are calibrated for these clients, natural persons and legal entities alike, from police custody through to enforcement.
Executives and startup founders.
Misuse of corporate assets (article L.242-6 of the French Commercial Code), presentation or publication of misleading accounts (article L.242-6, 2°), bankruptcy offences (article L.654-2), unlawful taking of interest, investor fraud and breach of trust (article 314-1 of the Criminal Code): we defend executives and startup founders from the summons, articulating criminal defence, governance and valuation issues.
Influencer agencies and communication agencies.
Misleading commercial practices (articles L.121-1 et seq. of the French Consumer Code, aggravated by the Act of 9 June 2023 governing commercial influence), concealed employment (article L.8221-1 of the Labour Code), tax fraud and money laundering.
Influencers and content creators.
Misleading commercial practices, fraud in an organised group (article 313-2 of the Criminal Code) in dropshipping, NFT or cryptoasset cases, money laundering (article 324-1), criminal invasion of privacy: we defend influencers and creators from the free hearing, coordinating with our e-reputation practice to protect their image during proceedings.
Musicians, artists and producers.
Subsidy fraud and misuse of creative financing schemes, tax litigation with criminal implications, laundering through artistic structures, phonographic production disputes escalating into criminal proceedings: our music law and artists' rights practice runs the defence before criminal courts.
Startups, SaaS publishers and new-technology players.
Financial cybercrime (ransomware, CEO fraud, IBAN substitution, offences against automated data processing systems, articles 323-1 to 323-7 of the Criminal Code), investor fraud, CNIL breaches with criminal implications, upcoming sanctions under the AI Act: our digital DNA and cybersecurity practice allow us to coordinate criminal defence, incident response and reputational crisis management.
Audiovisual producers and industry players.
CNC fraud, concealed employment, hidden financing, tax litigation of production companies: our audiovisual law practice defends producers, production companies and broadcasters before criminal courts, in connection with the firm's contractual expertise.
Leading your defence on every front: investigation, instruction, judgment.
Our practice covers every moment when your interests are at stake, from the first hour of police custody to appeals.
Emergency defence: police custody, search, free hearing.
A search is often the first contact with justice; it may be followed by police custody or a free hearing. The lawyer's presence is decisive: checking the lawfulness of acts and seizures, advising on the right to silence, and preventing ill-controlled statements from weighing on what follows.
Financial and management offences: misuse of corporate assets, fraud, breach of trust.
Misuse of corporate assets — whose legal basis and penalties are recalled in the 'In brief' box above — is distinguished from a mere management fault (which falls under civil liability) by two cumulative elements: the director's bad faith and use contrary to the corporate interest, for personal purposes or to favour another company in which he or she has a direct or indirect interest.
Since Cass. crim., 27 October 1997 (No. 96-83.698, Carignon), the French Supreme Court accepts that the offence's concealed nature causes the statute of limitations to run from the day the offence became apparent and could be established in conditions allowing the public action to be exercised.
Article L.242-6 of the Commercial Code applies to SAs; article L.241-3 to SARLs; article L.244-1 to SASs. Breach of trust (article 314-1 of the Criminal Code) punishes the misappropriation of funds, valuables or property handed over on condition of return or for a defined use, and is distinguished from fraud by the absence of initial fraudulent schemes.
Probity, tax fraud and money laundering.
Passive corruption and trading in influence by a public official (article 432-11 of the Criminal Code) are punishable by ten years' imprisonment and a EUR 1 million fine. Tax fraud (article 1741 of the General Tax Code) exposes to five years and EUR 500,000, raised to seven years and EUR 3 million in aggravated circumstances.
Money laundering (article 324-1 of the Criminal Code), deemed concealed by law, is punishable by five years and EUR 375,000.
Financial cybercrime and executive e-reputation.
Financial cybercrime now sits at the heart of business criminal law. Wire-transfer and CEO fraud, IBAN substitution on invoices, unlawful access or maintenance in an automated data processing system (articles 323-1 to 323-7 of the French Criminal Code), ransomware with extortion demands (article 312-1), phishing and digital identity theft (article 226-4-1), online scams (articles 313-1 and 313-2), theft of cryptoassets and laundering through mixers or offshore platforms (article 324-1): we step in from the moment the facts are discovered to preserve digital evidence, file a complaint with civil-party application, request asset freezes, identify perpetrators through technical intermediaries on the basis of article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure, and coordinate proceedings with the cyber units of public prosecutors' offices, JUNALCO, the Parquet national financier and, where flows leave the territory, with international criminal assistance channels (Europol, Eurojust). This is where our mastery of business criminal law meets our digital DNA. We also handle the media trial that often accompanies an exposure, through content removal and delisting, in connection with our defamation and e-reputation practice.
Alternatives to prosecution: CJIP, CRPC and compliance.
Trial is not always the best outcome. The convention judiciaire d'intérêt public (CJIP) and the comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité (CRPC) allow, in certain cases, to settle a criminal risk quickly and in a controlled way. Upstream, a solid compliance policy limits exposure and demonstrates good faith.
Business criminal lawyer in Paris: appearing before every court.
Based in Paris, INFLUXIO defends its clients before all Parisian courts: the Tribunal judiciaire de Paris and the Tribunal correctionnel located at Porte de Clichy, the juge des libertés et de la détention, the investigating chambers, the Paris Court of Appeal and specialised chambers.
The firm also acts before the Parquet national financier (PNF), with jurisdiction over major economic and financial crime. Whether you are looking for a business criminal lawyer in Paris for police custody, a criminal lawyer for an indictment or hearing, or counsel to anticipate a criminal risk, our submissions and pleadings are calibrated for the practice of each court.
Our office in Brussels allows us to articulate French and Belgian procedures in cross-border cases, where jurisdiction, mutual criminal assistance and asset recovery must be anticipated from the moment the file is opened.
Judicial investigation or direct prosecution: choosing the right procedural framework.
The framework in which a case is tried is one of the most structural data points of a criminal file. Direct prosecutions and judicial investigations do not pursue the same purposes, do not follow the same deadlines and do not offer the same guarantees. We adapt the strategy to the complexity of the facts, the degree of contestation and the result sought.
Direct prosecutions: judging without instruction.
Fast judgment framework, without prior judicial investigation, for simple or admitted facts.
- Legal basis: direct citation, summons by official report, immediate appearance (articles 393 et seq. of the French Code of Criminal Procedure), comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité (articles 495-7 et seq.).
- Duration: short, from a few weeks to a few months; immediate appearance can lead to a judgment the very day of referral.
- Effect: decision on guilt and sentence; in CRPC, a sentence is negotiated and then approved by a judge.
- Appeal: ten-day appeal period from the pronouncement of the judgment (article 498 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure).
- Preferred uses: simple or admitted facts, files ready for judgment, search for a fast and controlled outcome.
Judicial investigation: investigating in depth.
In-depth investigation entrusted to an investigating judge, frequent in complex financial cases.
- Legal basis: opening of a judicial investigation entrusted to an investigating judge (articles 79 et seq. of the French Code of Criminal Procedure).
- Duration: long, often several years in financial cases, the time required for expertise and acts.
- Effect: status of assisted witness or indicted person, access to the file, requests for acts, then a no-case order or order of referral.
- Appeal: appeal of orders before the investigating chamber within ten days (article 186 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure).
- Limitation period to anticipate: six years for délits (article 8 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure), with deferral of the starting point for concealed or hidden offences, up to twelve years.
The four pillars of business criminal defence.
From analysis to enforcement, each file follows at INFLUXIO a tested method built on four inseparable pillars.
01. Strategy.
Case analysis, opportunity to act or to defend, choice of procedural avenue and cost-benefit calculation.
02. Evidence.
Building evidence, bailiff report, expertise and pre-trial investigative measure.
03. Procedure.
Police custody, instruction, judgment, submissions, pleadings and appeals (appeal, cassation).
04. Enforcement.
Enforcement measures, effective recovery of damages and protection of the executive's reputation.
New issues in business criminal law.
Digital evidence has become central: to be admissible, a capture of online content must be the subject of a report meeting precise technical requirements. Identifying anonymous authors relies on a petition under article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure, complemented by data retention obligations on technical intermediaries.
Economic criminal justice has also evolved: the convention judiciaire d'intérêt public, introduced by the Sapin II Act of 9 December 2016 and codified at article 41-1-2 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure, allows a company to settle certain criminal matters without admission of guilt.
Finally, artificial intelligence is finding its way into case preparation, never relieving the lawyer of supervision and responsibility. At INFLUXIO, every defence begins with an audit of the risk and the available evidence.
Why entrust your criminal defence to INFLUXIO.
Choosing a business criminal law firm means arbitrating between speed, depth of analysis and ability to execute. Three markers distinguish INFLUXIO's approach.
A dual Paris-Brussels presence.
We plead before Parisian courts and support Belgian and cross-border procedures, allowing us to anticipate, from the moment the file is opened, questions of jurisdiction, mutual criminal assistance and asset recovery within the European Union.
A four-pillar method: strategy, evidence, procedure, enforcement.
Each file is handled with the same discipline: risk audit, evidence securing, reasoned choice of procedural avenue, then effective enforcement. No action is taken without a cost-benefit analysis having been computed beforehand.
A 24-hour reply and a transparent fee agreement.
Every request receives a first analysis within 24 business hours. Financial terms (flat fee, hourly fee, success fee in addition) are set in writing in a fee agreement signed before any intervention, in accordance with article 10 of Act n° 71-1130 of 31 December 1971.
Useful glossary in business criminal law.
- Police custody
- (garde à vue): coercive measure decided during the investigation, opening the right to the assistance of a lawyer and the right to silence.
- Free hearing
- (audition libre): hearing of a suspect who is not required to remain but retains the right to be assisted by a lawyer.
- Judicial investigation
- (information judiciaire): in-depth investigation entrusted to an investigating judge (articles 79 et seq. of the French Code of Criminal Procedure).
- Indictment
- (mise en examen): status decided by the investigating judge in the presence of serious or corroborating indications, opening access to the file and procedural rights.
- Immediate appearance
- (comparution immédiate): emergency procedure allowing a defendant to be tried shortly after referral (articles 393 et seq. of the French Code of Criminal Procedure).
- CRPC
- comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité, sentence negotiated with the prosecutor and then approved by a judge.
- CJIP
- convention judiciaire d'intérêt public, criminal settlement reserved for legal entities, without admission of guilt (article 41-1-2 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure).
- Parquet national financier (PNF)
- prosecutor's office specialising in major economic and financial crime.
- Misuse of corporate assets
- (abus de biens sociaux): bad-faith use of a company's assets or credit contrary to its interest, for personal purposes (article L.242-6 of the Commercial Code for SAs).
- Management ban
- (interdiction de gérer): sentence depriving a person of the right to direct, manage or control a business, for a fixed period.
- Civil party constitution
- (constitution de partie civile): act by which the victim seeks compensation before the criminal court and may, where appropriate, trigger public action.
- Limitation of public action
- extinguishment of prosecutions by lapse of time, six years for délits, with deferral for concealed or hidden offences (article 8 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure).
Tailored support
Discuss your situation.
Receive a clear, personalized quote from our team.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
As early as possible. The investigation phase (police custody, free hearing, search) often determines the outcome of the case. You can also consult a lawyer upstream of any procedure, for a criminal risk audit, for instance before an M&A operation or in the face of a tax audit.
The lawyer analyses the risk, secures the evidence, intervenes from police custody, challenges unlawful acts, drafts submissions, pleads at hearing and enforces the decision. The lawyer acts in defence, to push back an accusation, and in claim, to assert the rights of a victim company.
Stay calm, offer no physical resistance and contact a lawyer immediately. You have the right to remain silent and the right to the assistance of a lawyer from the very start of the measure. Do not sign anything and do not give any explanation on the substance without speaking to your counsel.
Yes. Article 121-2 of the Criminal Code allows the legal entity to be prosecuted for offences committed on its behalf by its organs or representatives, without excluding the personal liability of the executive. The fine incurred by the company can reach five times that of the natural person. A coordinated defence is essential.
The convention judiciaire d'intérêt public (article 41-1-2 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure, introduced by the Sapin II Act) allows a company exposed for corruption, trading in influence, tax fraud or money laundering to enter into an agreement with the prosecutor, without admission of guilt, with a public-interest fine capped at 30% of average turnover and a compliance programme supervised by the French Anticorruption Agency.
Délits are in principle time-barred after six years from their commission (article 8 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure). But for concealed offences (such as money laundering) or hidden offences (false accounts, concealed misuse of corporate assets), the starting point is deferred to the day the offence could be observed, up to a long-stop period of twelve years.
Fees depend on the nature and complexity of the case and on the stage of the procedure. At INFLUXIO, fees are set in writing in a fee agreement signed before any intervention (flat fee, hourly fee, or success fee in addition). A clear quote is sent within 24 hours.
No. Case dismissal, no-case orders, the CRPC or the CJIP often allow a faster and more controlled outcome. We always arbitrate between defence in litigation and a negotiated solution, depending on the result sought and the reputational stake.
Yes. We represent influencers, creators exposed for misleading commercial practices (article L.121-1 of the French Consumer Code, aggravated by the Act of 9 June 2023), fraud in an organised group (dropshipping, NFTs, cryptoassets) or money laundering, from the free hearing through to the hearing.
Yes. Our joint practice of startup law and business criminal law allows us to defend founders exposed for misuse of corporate assets, presentation of misleading accounts, bankruptcy offences or investor fraud, articulating criminal defence, governance and valuation issues.
Yes. Our cybersecurity practice and Web3 expertise allow us to act in defence and as civil party in ransomware, CEO fraud, IBAN substitution, offences against automated data processing systems (articles 323-1 to 323-7 of the Criminal Code), online scams and cryptoasset theft, coordinating with the cyber units of public prosecutors' offices, JUNALCO and the Parquet national financier.
Related publications
Our latest articles.
In short
INFLUXIO is a law firm specialized in business criminal, based in Paris and Brussels. Police custody, misuse of corporate assets, fraud, corruption, tax fraud, money laundering, CJIP, CRPC. More than 800 clients have already trusted INFLUXIO.
Response within 24 hours.
Written and reviewed by
Partner
Admitted to the Paris and Brussels Bars and co-founding partner of INFLUXIO, Maître Alexandre BIGOT-JOLY trained in media law, intellectual property and criminal law. Recognised as one of the leading figures in French music law, he advises independent labels and majors, publishers, producers, managers and recording artists, and has spent more than a decade working with content creators, influencer agencies and advertisers. He lectures on music and communications law at CELSA, ISCOM and ESP.
View full profile →Updated on