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BANK ACCOUNT ATTACHMENTS IN MONACO

21/07/2022

In Monaco, it is possible for bank accounts of private individuals or legal entities to be frozen, which means all debit or credit transactions from or to this account will be blocked.

Depending on the type of attachment on the account, the account holder may become aware of it via notification from their bank, notice from a bailiff or they may simply notice that they are unable to make any transactions from their account.

Bank attachments ordered in criminal proceedings

A bank account attachment can be the result of an ongoing criminal investigation carried out by the Investigating Judge, who has the power to freeze bank accounts of persons involved in criminal proceedings and bank accounts of legal entities if the person involved in criminal proceedings is the ultimate beneficiary of such entities.

This power can be explained by the need to facilitate ongoing criminal investigations, the suspicion that the funds held in the account are the product of a criminal offence and if there is a risk of the funds disappearing.

To contest a freezing order, it is possible to file a detailed petition presenting one’s arguments in order to ask the Judge to lift fully or partially the freezing order on the account, in particular to be able to pay one’s necessary expenses.

If the request is denied, it is possible to appeal the Judge’s decision before the criminal section of the Court of Appeal. There are no limits on the number of times such petitions can be made. However, if the petition is denied, it is generally best to wait for new elements to arise in the investigation or wait for the position of the petitioner to evolve before making a new request.

Bank attachments ordered in civil proceedings

The freezing of bank accounts can also happen in civil attachment proceedings. It can be authorised by a Judge, as a precautionary measure, if a lender is requesting payment of a debt and there is a risk that the debtor will make the funds disappear (in such a case, the funds are blocked until a definite decision on the merits is made). It is also possible to request the Judge to lift the attachment, even if the proceeding on the merits is still ongoing.

The attachment can also be enforced following judgement in favour of a lender if the debt is not willingly paid by the debtor. In this case, if the attachment is not contested by the debtor within the legally set timeframe, the funds will automatically be attributed to the lender.

Authors

Portrait ofGéraldine Gazo
Géraldine Gazo
Partner
Monaco
Lamia M'Zebla