French Monetary and Financial Code
In forceI. - For the application of this chapter, the department referred to in Article L. 561-23 may request that the documents, information or data, regardless of the medium used, kept pursuant to Article L. 561-10-2 and Articles L. 561-12 and L. 561-13 be communicated directly to it within the time limits it sets. This right is exercised on the basis of documents or on site for the persons mentioned in 1° to 7° of Article L. 561-2, and on the basis of documents for the other persons mentioned in this Article, with the aim of reconstructing all the transactions carried out by a natural or legal person linked to a transaction that was the subject of a report mentioned in Article L. 561-15 or to information received under Articles L. 561-15-1, L. 561-27, L. 561-28 or L. 561-29, as well as for the purpose of providing information, under the conditions set out in Article L. 561-29-1, to counterpart foreign financial intelligence units.
II. - By way of derogation from I, requests for disclosure of documents, information or data made to avocats au Conseil d'Etat et à la Cour de cassation and lawyers are submitted by the department, as appropriate, to the President of the Ordre des avocats au Conseil d'Etat et à la Cour de cassation or to the President of the Bar Association with which the lawyer is registered.
The avocat au Conseil d'Etat et à la Cour de cassation or the avocat shall provide the authority to which he/she reports with any documents, information or data requested by the authority. The authority shall forward them to the department in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article L. 561-17.
If this procedure is not followed, the avocat au Conseil d'Etat et à la Cour de cassation or the avocat is entitled to object to the communication of the documents, information or data requested by the department referred to in Article L. 561-23.
This derogation does not apply to lawyers acting as fiduciaries pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 2015 of the Civil Code.
IIa. - The department referred to in Article L. 561-23 may ask any road, rail, sea or air transport company, any travel or holiday operator, or any land, sea or air transport vehicle rental company, to provide details identifying the persons who have paid for or received a service as well as the dates, times and places of departure and arrival of these persons and, where applicable, any information in its possession relating to the baggage and goods transported.
II ter. - The department referred to in Article L. 561-23 may request any information necessary for the performance of its duties from the managers of a payment or withdrawal card system.
IIc. - The department referred to in Article L. 561-23 may request any information necessary for the performance of its duties from any person who, by means of an Internet site, brings together the promoters of an event or project and the persons financing, in whole or in part, this event or project.
III. - It is forbidden, subject to the penalties provided for in Article L. 574-1, for the managers and persons mentioned in IIa to IIc of this Article and in Article L. 561-2, the President of the Ordre des Avocats au Conseil d'Etat et à la Cour de Cassation or the President of the Bar Association with which the lawyer is registered to bring to the attention of the owner of the sums or the perpetrator of one of the transactions mentioned in Article L. 561-15 or to third parties, other than the supervisory authorities, professional orders and national representative bodies mentioned in Article L. 561-36, the information resulting from the exercise by the department mentioned in Article L. 561-23 of the right of communication provided for in Article L. 561-25.
The fact that the persons mentioned in 13° of Article L. 561-2 endeavour to dissuade their customer from taking part in an illegal activity does not constitute disclosure within the meaning of the preceding paragraph.
