Chapter III: Offences relating to cheques and other non-cash money instruments

It is punishable by a fine of 6,000 euros for the drawee to refuse payment of a cheque, except in the cases mentioned in the second paragraph of article L. 131-35, on the grounds that the drawer has made a stop payment.

Any person who, after a cheque has been issued, with the intention of infringing the rights of another person, withdraws all or part of the provision by transfer, credit transfer or any other means whatsoever, or in the same circumstances instructs the drawee to pay, shall be liable to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 375,000 euros. The same penalties shall apply to any person knowingly agreeing to receive…

Any person shall be liable to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 375,000 euros if he or she: 1. Counterfeit or falsify a cheque or any other instrument referred to in article L. 133-4; 2. Knowingly making or attempting to make use of a counterfeit or falsified cheque or other instrument referred to in article L. 133-4; 3. knowingly accept payment by means of a counterfeit or falsified cheque…

It is punishable by seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of 750,000 euros for any person to manufacture, acquire, hold, transfer, offer or make available equipment, instruments, computer programmes or any data designed or specially adapted to commit the offences referred to in 1° of Article L. 163-3.

Attempts to commit the offences referred to in 1° of article L. 163-3 and article L. 163-4 are punishable by the same penalties.

The penalties incurred are increased to ten years’ imprisonment and a fine of one million euros when the offences provided for in articles L. 163-3, L. 163-4 and L. 163-4-1 are committed by an organised gang.

The confiscation, for the purpose of destruction, of counterfeit or falsified cheques and other instruments mentioned in article L. 133-4 is mandatory in the cases provided for in articles L. 163-3 to L. 163-4-1. It is also compulsory to confiscate materials, machines, apparatus, instruments, computer programmes or any data used or intended for use in the manufacture of the said instruments, except where they have been used without the owner’s…

In all the cases provided for in articles L. 163-2 to L. 163-4-1 and L. 163-7, the court may order the disqualification from civic, civil and family rights provided for in article 131-26 of the Criminal Code and the disqualification, for a maximum of five years, from exercising a professional or social activity, pursuant to the provisions of articles 131-27 and 131-28 of the Criminal Code. In the same cases,…

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.