Article 17 of the Law requires the directors of companies employing at least 500 employees, or belonging to a group of companies whose parent company has its headquarters in France, and whose workforce includes at least 500 employees, and whose sales or consolidated sales exceed € 100 million ($ 109.5 million) to put in place, independently of any suspicion of a criminal offence, measures and procedures designed to prevent and detect the commission, in France or abroad, of acts of corruption or influence peddling. This obligation extends to subsidiaries and companies controlled by these groups in France and abroad. This general obligation to prevent and detect bribery and influence peddling consists in the development and the effective application of eight measures: (i) a code of conduct; (ii) an internal reporting system; (iii) a risk mapping; (iv) third-party due diligence; (v) accounting control procedures; (vi) “a training programme for managers and staff who have the greatest exposure to bribery and influence peddling risks; (vii) a disciplinary system; and (viii) an internal control and assessment system for measures implemented. The modalities for implementing these measures are developed by non-binding Recommendations published by the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA) in December 2017 and revised in January 2021. The AFA has also drawn up several practical guides.
Failure to comply may trigger an injunction to adapt internal compliance procedures and/or an administrative penalty of up to € 1 million ($ 1.1 million) for legal persons and € 200,000 ($ 219,000) for individuals, which may also be published, broadcasted or displayed. The sanction is pronounced by an independent sanctions committee comprised of two members of the Council of State, two judges of the Supreme Court and two officials of the Supreme Audit Institutions. This administrative penalty does not result in a criminal record for the legal person.
Sources: Working Group on Bribery, France’s Phase 4 Monitoring Report, https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/anti-corruption-and-integrity.html and its press release, https://web-archive.oecd.org/temp/2021-12-16/619556-france-s-achievements-in-the-fight-against-foreign-bribery-need-to-be-preserved-through-legislative-reforms-and-a-reinforcement-of-resources.html; French SAPIN II Law, https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000033558528; AFA Recommendations, https://www.agence-francaise-anticorruption.gouv.fr/files/files/French%20AC%20Agency%20Guidelines%20.pdf; https://www.agence-francaise-anticorruption.gouv.fr/en
