Title VI: Criminal provisions

It is an offence for any person to issue one or more cheques in breach of the prohibition imposed under article L. 163-6, and is punishable by five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 375,000 euros. The same penalties shall apply if an agent knowingly issues one or more cheques that the principal was prohibited from issuing pursuant to article L. 163-6. For the purposes of investigating, prosecuting, investigating and…

All offences punishable under articles L. 163-2, L. 163-3 as regards the provisions relating to cheques and L. 163-7 are considered, for the purposes of the provisions relating to repeat offences, to constitute a single offence.

In criminal proceedings against the drawer, a bearer who has joined the proceedings as a civil party is entitled to claim before the judges of the criminal court a sum equal to the amount of the cheque, without prejudice, where appropriate, to any damages. He may, however, if he prefers, bring an action for payment of his claim before the civil or commercial courts. If no civil action has been…

A fine of 12,000 euros shall be imposed on the drawee who: 1. Indicate a provision that is less than the existing and available provision; 2. Rejecting a cheque on the grounds of insufficient or unavailable funds without indicating, where this is the case, that the cheque has been issued in defiance of an injunction issued pursuant to article L. 131-73 or in breach of a prohibition issued pursuant to…

Legal entities found to be criminally liable, under the conditions set out in article 121-2 of the French Criminal Code, for the offences defined in articles L. 163-2 to L. 163-4, L. 163-7 and L. 163-10 shall incur, in addition to the fine set out in article 131-38 of the French Criminal Code, the penalties set out in article 131-39 of the same Code. The prohibition referred to in 2°…

The penalties laid down in Article 226-21 of the Criminal Code shall apply to any person who: 1. Use information centralised by the Banque de France pursuant to the first paragraph of article L. 131-85 for purposes other than those pursued by articles L. 131-1 to L. 131-87 relating to cheques and by articles L. 133-1 to L. 133-28 when they apply to payment cards; 2. To centralise, on behalf…

Any person who disseminates or retains information obtained pursuant to article L. 131-86 shall be liable to the penalties provided for in article 226-21 of the French Criminal Code.