A French company can lose access to its operating account at the moment when its foreign shareholders are being asked to prove who owns it, where its money comes from and what its business actually does. The event is often described as an \u201cAML review\u201d. AML means anti-money laundering, and the French framework is known as LCB-FT, the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. A review is not, by itself, a finding of wrongdoing. It is a compliance process that can nevertheless end in a payment restriction, a request for more documents or termination of the account.<\/p>\n
This distinction matters. A bank may be entitled to stop a relationship when it cannot complete its customer checks, while a company that has no other deposit account may be able to use France\u2019s statutory right to an account. The second route does not force a bank to provide credit or an overdraft, and it does not necessarily restore the original commercial relationship. It can, however, protect access to a basic deposit account if the legal conditions are met.<\/p>\n
The practical response is therefore two-track: answer the compliance request with a coherent ownership and business file, while preserving the evidence and deadlines needed for a Banque de France application. The guide below is aimed at foreign founders, parent companies and directors of a French subsidiary. It concerns a French company account, not a personal account for an individual moving to France or a property purchase. For the wider incorporation sequence, see this French company formation guidance<\/a>.<\/p>\n Start by treating the bank\u2019s message as an evidence request, not as an invitation to send disconnected attachments. The bank must be able to match the legal entity, its representatives, its ownership chain, its expected activity and the transactions passing through the account. A short cover letter should identify the company, quote the bank\u2019s reference, list each attachment and explain any document that is not in French. The company should keep the complete transmission, including the date, recipient, file names and delivery confirmation.<\/p>\n The corporate identity file should normally contain the latest extrait Kbis<\/em>, if the company is registered in the French Trade and Companies Register. Kbis is the official extract issued by the clerk\u2019s office of the commercial court, called the greffe<\/em>; it records the company\u2019s legal identity, registered office, managers and registration information. The National Register of Enterprises, or RNE (registre national des entreprises<\/em>), also provides an official proof of existence. The INPI explanation of company existence documents<\/a> distinguishes the RNE attestation from the Kbis and explains which institution issues each document. INPI is the French National Institute of Industrial Property.<\/p>\n Add the articles of association, any current amendment, the certificate of incorporation, the latest shareholder register or equivalent ownership record, and the appointment document for the legal representative. If the account is operated by an employee, accountant or other agent, include the written authority and that person\u2019s identification. A foreign parent should provide its own recent registry extract, constitutional documents and evidence of the authority of the person signing for it. If the ownership chain passes through several companies, prepare the chain in one diagram rather than making the bank reconstruct it from separate extracts.<\/p>\n The ultimate beneficial owner, or UBO, is the natural person who ultimately controls the company or for whom the relevant activity is carried out. French law uses the expression b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaire effectif<\/em>. Article L. 561-2-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code defines that person as the one who controls the customer directly or indirectly, or for whom an operation is carried out or an activity is exercised. The statutory text uses the words For each UBO, provide the passport or national identity document, residential address, nationality and ownership or control explanation. The French beneficial-owner filing is not a substitute for answering a bank\u2019s questions. Article L. 561-45-1 requires French entities to maintain Do not assume that a foreign registry extract will be understood without context. Give the issuing authority, registration number, issue date, legal form and a short English explanation. If the bank requests a certified translation, apostille or legalisation, ask exactly which document and form it requires. Those formalities may depend on the country and on the bank\u2019s internal policy; they should not be applied indiscriminately to every document. A dated translation table can help the reviewer match \u201cdirector\u201d, \u201cmanager\u201d, \u201cregistered office\u201d, \u201cshare capital\u201d and \u201cbeneficial owner\u201d across legal systems.<\/p>\n The business file should answer a different question: why will this company receive and send money? Explain the products or services, customer locations, suppliers, expected monthly turnover, currencies, countries involved, payment channels, use of any marketplace, and the reason for transfers to or from the foreign parent. Attach a few representative contracts, invoices, purchase orders or distribution agreements, not an unstructured data dump. If the company is pre-revenue, say so and provide the business plan, signed engagement letters, funding schedule and expected first transactions. A dormant or newly incorporated company can be legitimate; silence about its expected activity is what makes the file difficult to assess.<\/p>\n Source-of-funds evidence should follow the money into the company. For an initial capital contribution, show the shareholder resolution, capital subscription, bank transfer record and the parent company\u2019s accounts or financing agreement. For a shareholder loan, identify the lender, principal, interest, maturity and approval. For an acquisition or group restructuring, include the transaction documents and a clear explanation of the commercial purpose. Redact unrelated personal data, but do not remove the names, dates, amounts or counterparties needed to reconcile the flow. Where a document contains multiple currencies, state the conversion date and currency used in the summary.<\/p>\n Article R. 561-5 specifies the corporate identity information that the bank must collect. It refers to Finally, check for contradictions before sending the package. The company\u2019s stated activity should match its corporate purpose, website, invoices, tax registrations and account history. The shareholder chart should match the beneficial-owner declaration and the bank\u2019s existing records. A director\u2019s address should be consistent with the identity document and the company\u2019s filings. If the company has recently changed its name, president, registered office or ownership, put the chronology on one page. A transparent explanation of a change is usually more useful than an attempt to hide a gap.<\/p>\n Foreign ownership is not, by itself, a statutory prohibition on holding a French company account. It can be a factor in the bank\u2019s risk assessment, particularly when the ownership chain, management location, source of funds or destination countries are difficult to verify. The bank must still apply its customer-due-diligence duties to the facts of the relationship. The company should ask whether the bank is waiting for documents, has restricted particular operations, or has formally terminated the account. Those are different events with different consequences.<\/p>\n Article L. 561-5 of the Monetary and Financial Code requires the relevant professional to identify the customer and, where appropriate, the beneficial owner, and to verify the information using reliable documents. Its operative phrase is The duty continues after the account is opened. Article L. 561-6 requires constant vigilance and careful examination of transactions so that they remain coherent with the bank\u2019s updated knowledge of the relationship. The statute speaks of There is also a limit on what the bank can do when the required information cannot be obtained. Under Article L. 561-8, a regulated person that cannot satisfy the identification and relationship-purpose requirements does not execute operations and does not establish or continue the relationship. The text includes A review can lead to a temporary hold on a transfer, a refusal of a particular payment, a request to regularise information, or a notice terminating the account agreement. The bank\u2019s letter should be read precisely. \u201cWe are reviewing your relationship\u201d does not necessarily state that the account is closed. \u201cYour account will be closed on [date]\u201d is a termination notice. \u201cYour access is restricted\u201d may concern a card, online access or one category of payments rather than the deposit account itself. Ask for the operational position in writing without demanding disclosure of a confidential suspicious-transaction report.<\/p>\n French banking law must be applied with the bank\u2019s anti-money-laundering duties in mind, but a court can still examine whether the bank\u2019s stated conduct and the evidence support its position. In Commercial Chamber, 30 June 2021, no. 19-14.313, Knappe Composite<\/a>, the Court of Cassation considered the closure of an account opened through the right-to-account procedure and held that the lower court had not sufficiently excluded the bank\u2019s case about suspected illegal purposes. The decision concluded that the appeal court The company should also identify whether the account was an ordinary commercial account or an account opened after the Banque de France designated a bank under the right-to-account procedure. Ordinary account rights come mainly from the contract and applicable banking rules. A designated account benefits from special statutory protections and basic services, but the bank remains subject to AML obligations. Confusing these two situations can lead to the wrong demand: asking the original bank to restore a commercial overdraft when the immediate legal objective should be continuity through a basic deposit account.<\/p>\n Where the bank has asked for a document, answer with a complete package and a proposed call with its compliance team. Where it has announced termination, preserve the letter and calculate the date of receipt. Do not send repeated contradictory explanations from different directors or advisers. One authorised contact should coordinate the response. If a document cannot be obtained quickly, explain why, give an expected date and provide reliable interim evidence. A bank is not required to accept a narrative that its records cannot verify, but a structured file gives the reviewer a basis for a decision.<\/p>\n The right-to-account is the emergency legal route when a person or company has no deposit account in France and meets the statutory conditions. Article L. 312-1 gives a person or legal entity domiciled in France a right to the opening of a deposit account, subject to being without such an account in France. The provision begins its relevant category with A company does not need to wait until every payment has failed before preparing the application. Preserve the termination decision, envelope or electronic delivery record, account statements, notice of the final operating date and proof that the account is the company\u2019s only deposit account in France. If another French deposit account remains open, the statutory condition may not be met, even if that account has a low balance or limited services. A foreign account is not the same thing as a deposit account in France, but the precise status of each French account should be documented.<\/p>\n Article R. 312-6 addresses the closure scenario directly. It states that people with a single deposit account whose agreement is terminated by the bank are treated as having no deposit account, for the purposes of Article L. 312-1, from receipt of the termination decision. The French text refers to The Banque de France application should be assembled for the company, not for its shareholder personally. The statutory form and official guidance generally require the company\u2019s identity, a recent Kbis or equivalent registration evidence, identification of the legal representative, a signed declaration or evidence that the company has no account, and the bank\u2019s refusal or termination document. The Service-Public guidance on the right to an account for a professional activity<\/a> describes the route and the documents. The official order on supporting documents<\/a> also refers, for a legal entity, to the legal representative\u2019s identity, a Kbis issued less than three months earlier and the refusal letter.<\/p>\n If the legal representative lives outside France, that does not automatically prevent the application. It does make authority and identity particularly important. Include the representative\u2019s passport, the corporate appointment, the current registry extract and, if an adviser files the application, the signed authority. Give a reliable postal and electronic address. The company can also prepare the same UBO and source-of-funds file that the first bank requested, because the bank designated by the Banque de France will conduct its own customer checks. A right-to-account application is not a way around AML rules.<\/p>\n Once the Banque de France designates an institution, Article R. 312-7 requires that institution to notify the applicant of the documents needed and the relevant branch within three working days from receipt of the designation decision. The official text uses The statutory account provides basic banking services, not the full commercial package previously enjoyed. Article D. 312-5-1 lists the services for a company account opened under the procedure. It includes the basic services in Article D. 312-5, cash deposits and withdrawals at the institution\u2019s counter, a payment card subject to authorisation, two bank-cheque forms per month or equivalent means, and cash operations. One listed service is Article D. 312-8 makes the basic services available without a contribution from the holder when the account was opened through the Article L. 312-1 procedure. That protection is different from a promise that all requested features will be free or that the company will never be asked for further evidence. Article R. 312-8-1 also provides that the Banque de France is informed of the reasons for a refusal or, in the relevant situation, the reasons for termination. Its official wording requires information The designated bank can ask for additional material under its own AML review. Give it the corporate pack, ownership chart, UBO evidence, activity explanation, tax registrations and source-of-funds documents in a consistent form. If the bank says that one item is missing, ask whether the account-opening process can continue while an official foreign document is being obtained. Do not represent an uncertified copy as an original. If the bank ultimately refuses, request its written refusal and return to the Banque de France with the new evidence. The right-to-account route is procedural; it does not immunise the company from a refusal grounded in an inability to complete legal checks.<\/p>\n The first priority is a payment map with dates and consequences. List employee wages, social-security payments, tax instalments, VAT, supplier invoices, refunds to customers, rent, insurance, loan instalments and card settlements. Mark each item as recurring, urgent or legally time-sensitive. Inform the board and the foreign parent immediately. Tell key counterparties that the company is changing payment coordinates, but do not send a new account number until the receiving institution has confirmed that it is open and usable. A French account closure is an operational emergency even when the legal dispute is still uncertain.<\/p>\n Payroll and social-security obligations need separate attention. URSSAF is the French organisation that collects social-security contributions. Contact it through the company\u2019s official account or the channel stated on the payment notice and ask how a payment should be made while the bank transition is underway. If employees are already engaged, preserve payroll records and written proof of any payment incident. Do not tell employees that a bank review suspends the employer\u2019s obligations. If a payment deadline is missed, document the closure notice, the attempted payment and the replacement-account steps so that any request for a remedy is supported by evidence.<\/p>\n Tax continuity should be handled in parallel. A company may have to pay corporate income tax, known as IS (imp\u00f4t sur les soci\u00e9t\u00e9s<\/em>), value-added tax (VAT), and the cotisation fonci\u00e8re des entreprises<\/em>, or CFE, which is a local business-property contribution. The French tax administration\u2019s professional simplified-payment guidance<\/a> explains that a company enters its bank details in its professional tax area and uses a business-to-business SEPA mandate for certain tax payments. SEPA means the Single Euro Payments Area. Confirm whether an existing mandate remains valid after the closure, cancel an unusable mandate when appropriate, and obtain written instructions before a deadline expires.<\/p>\n Customers and suppliers should not be directed to a director\u2019s personal account as a casual workaround. Mixing company receipts with a shareholder\u2019s personal funds can create accounting, tax, governance and tracing problems, and it may create another AML question at the replacement bank. If a shareholder advances money, record it as a properly authorised contribution or shareholder loan and preserve the transfer evidence. If a payment platform or foreign account is used temporarily, verify its legal status, the contracting entity, the ability to pay French employees and public bodies, and whether it is actually a deposit account for purposes of the right-to-account procedure.<\/p>\n Open a replacement commercial account as soon as possible, even while the Banque de France file is prepared. The company should disclose the previous closure when asked and explain that a statutory application is underway. A new bank will still ask about the ownership chain, business purpose, source of funds and expected flows. Reusing the same incomplete file will produce the same delay. The practical objective is not to conceal the first bank\u2019s decision; it is to show that the company has understood the compliance concern and can answer it with verifiable material.<\/p>\n The company should request its original bank\u2019s closure instructions: the final date for outgoing payments, treatment of incoming funds after closure, return of unused cheques or cards, transfer of the positive balance, statements, tax documents and the contact route for unresolved transactions. Preserve every statement and message. If a customer pays the closed account after the stated date, the payment may be rejected or returned. The company should notify that customer promptly and keep evidence of the new coordinates. The Official Bulletin of Civil and Commercial Announcements, known as BODACC, is the French publication used for certain corporate and insolvency notices; it is not a substitute for a bank\u2019s account-closure notice and should not be treated as proof that an account remains operational.<\/p>\n A legal challenge should be calibrated to the account\u2019s status and the immediate harm. Begin with a written complaint to the bank\u2019s designated complaints channel, identifying the contractual notice, the documents supplied, the payments at risk and the outcome requested. If the bank has not given a clear termination date, ask whether the account is restricted or closed and request the legal and contractual basis that can be disclosed. A commercial-court application for urgent relief may be considered where the evidence shows a serious and immediate problem, but the court will weigh the bank\u2019s regulatory duties, confidentiality constraints, contract and factual risk. Urgency alone does not establish a right to restoration of an ordinary commercial account.<\/p>\n The Knappe Composite decision shows why the evidence must be specific. The case involved a bank designated under the right-to-account procedure and allegations concerning atypical operations and Iran. The Court of Cassation did not announce that a designated bank can never close an account. It required the lower court\u2019s reasoning to address whether the bank\u2019s circumstances supported the alleged unlawful use and found that the reasoning lacked a sufficient legal basis. A company seeking relief should therefore identify the exact transactions, counterparties, documents and explanations that answer the bank\u2019s concern instead of relying only on the fact that its shareholders are foreign.<\/p>\n Another decision illustrates the boundary between a bank\u2019s vigilance and an obligation to investigate every commercial decision. In Commercial Chamber, 19 November 2025, no. 24-17.780<\/a>, the Court of Cassation stated that If the bank has reported or is considering a suspicious transaction, the company should avoid demanding the contents of a report or making speculative accusations. Ask for the documents and operational information that can lawfully be communicated. Provide a neutral chronology, the ownership evidence, commercial rationale and source-of-funds proof. Do not contact a counterparty in a way that could disrupt an investigation or create a misleading record. Legal advice should focus on preserving the company\u2019s ability to operate and on responding to a disclosed reason, not on guessing at confidential information.<\/p>\n Finally, keep an audit file that a new bank, auditor, tax adviser or court can read in sequence: closure notice, proof of receipt, account agreement, bank statements, compliance request, company response, ownership chart, UBO documents, source-of-funds material, payment map, replacement-account applications, Banque de France submissions and evidence of every attempted payment. Record the date and result of each telephone call in a follow-up email. For a foreign board, an English executive summary with the French document titles can prevent delays caused by several people sending different explanations.<\/p>\n A French bank account closed after an AML review should trigger a documented response, not a conclusion that the company has committed an offence. First identify the precise event: document request, transaction restriction or formal termination. Then send one coherent file covering the Kbis or RNE evidence, legal representative, ownership chain, ultimate beneficial owner, business model, expected flows and source of funds. At the same time, preserve the termination notice and its receipt date, because Article R. 312-6 can make the company eligible for the right-to-account route when its only French deposit account has been terminated.<\/p>\n Next protect the payment calendar, contact URSSAF and the tax administration, replace unusable SEPA mandates, communicate new bank details securely, and prepare the Banque de France application. The designated institution will perform its own LCB-FT checks, so accuracy and consistency remain essential. A basic account can preserve deposits, payments and essential operations, but it is not a promise of credit or restoration of the former bank relationship. The strongest file is factual, dated and capable of being checked by a third party.<\/p>\n Need a quick opinion on your case<\/strong><\/p>\n A foreign-owned French company can face a bank closure, an AML document request or an urgent payment problem. We offer a telephone consultation within 48 hours with a lawyer from the firm.<\/p>\n Call +33 6 46 60 58 22<\/a> to discuss the next step. You can also use the contact page for Ma\u00eetre Reda Kohen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A practical legal guide for foreign shareholders after a French company bank account is restricted or closed following an anti-money-laundering review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251031309,"featured_media":16322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kj_source_type":"","_kj_official_id":"","_kj_official_url":"","_kj_judilibre_id":"","_kj_jur":"","_kj_lieu":"","_kj_chambre":"","_kj_rg":"","_kj_date":"","activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":4,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federated","footnotes":""},"categories":[80314,80313],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2116404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-decryptage","category-doing-business-in-france"],"yoast_head":"\nI. What a French company must establish during an AML review<\/h2>\n
A. What documents should a foreign shareholder prepare when a French bank asks for an AML review?<\/h3>\n
qui contr\u00f4lent en dernier lieu, directement ou indirectement, le client<\/q>; the full provision is available on L\u00e9gifrance, Article L. 561-2-2<\/a>.<\/p>\n
des informations exactes et actualis\u00e9es sur leurs b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaires effectifs<\/q>. Link that obligation to the company\u2019s current filing and, if something has changed, explain whether a correction has already been filed through the formalities system. The L\u00e9gifrance text of Article L. 561-45-1<\/a> is the relevant reference.<\/p>\n
la forme juridique, la d\u00e9nomination, le num\u00e9ro d\u2019immatriculation<\/q>, as well as the registered office and the place where the business is effectively managed when different. The L\u00e9gifrance version of Article R. 561-5<\/a> explains the rule. This is why a bank may ask for both the registered-office contract and evidence of actual management. It is not necessarily alleging that the registered office is fictitious; it is testing whether the information in the file is consistent.<\/p>\n
B. Can a French bank close an account because the shareholders are abroad?<\/h3>\n
Identifient leur client et, le cas \u00e9ch\u00e9ant, le b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaire effectif<\/q>; consult the L\u00e9gifrance text of Article L. 561-5<\/a>. Article L. 561-5-1 adds the need to obtain information about the purpose and nature of the relationship and to update it during the relationship. The corresponding Article L. 561-5-1 provision<\/a> is especially relevant when a start-up\u2019s projected business differs from its first months of activity.<\/p>\n
une vigilance constante<\/q>; the complete article appears on L\u00e9gifrance, Article L. 561-6<\/a>. A sudden change in turnover, unexplained payments involving a new country, a mismatch between the declared activity and account movements, or an opaque ownership change can therefore trigger a fresh review even years after incorporation.<\/p>\n
n’\u00e9tablit ni ne poursuit aucune relation d’affaires<\/q>; see L\u00e9gifrance, Article L. 561-8<\/a>. This provision explains why sending an incomplete UBO file can produce a harder result than a temporary request for clarification. It also applies to an institution designated through the statutory right-to-account procedure, so a replacement bank will still conduct its own compliance review.<\/p>\n
n’a pas donn\u00e9 de base l\u00e9gale \u00e0 sa d\u00e9cision<\/q>. The lesson is not that every closure is unlawful; it is that the factual record, the bank\u2019s reasons and the nature of the account matter.<\/p>\n
II. What the company should do after the account is closed<\/h2>\n
A. What is the Banque de France right-to-account procedure after closure?<\/h3>\n
Toute personne physique ou morale domicili\u00e9e en France<\/q>; read the current section on L\u00e9gifrance, Article L. 312-1<\/a>. A French subsidiary generally falls within the legal-person category because it has its registered domicile in France.<\/p>\n
\u00e0 compter de la date de r\u00e9ception de la d\u00e9cision de r\u00e9siliation<\/q>; the official article is L\u00e9gifrance, Article R. 312-6<\/a>. This date is therefore evidence, not an administrative detail. Keep the original notice and proof of receipt.<\/p>\n
dans les trois jours ouvr\u00e9s<\/q> and permits additional documents to be requested when needed; see L\u00e9gifrance, Article R. 312-7<\/a>. Respond within the bank\u2019s stated channel and keep a dated copy of every item. The six-month lapse rule in Article R. 312-7-1 means that a designation should not be left unattended; the applicant should contact the Banque de France if the designated branch cannot process the file.<\/p>\n
Deux formules de ch\u00e8ques de banque par mois<\/q>; consult L\u00e9gifrance, Article D. 312-5-1<\/a>. The company should plan for a debit account, not assume that it will receive a credit line, overdraft, merchant acquiring facility or international treasury service.<\/p>\n
dans les meilleurs d\u00e9lais<\/q>; the full text is on L\u00e9gifrance, Article R. 312-8-1<\/a>.<\/p>\n
B. How can the company protect payroll, taxes and payments while challenging the closure?<\/h3>\n
Le banquier, tenu \u00e0 une obligation de ne pas s’immiscer dans les affaires de son client<\/q>, must alert the customer when apparent anomalies are readily detectable by a normally diligent professional. This case should not be converted into a general rule that a bank must maintain every account. Its useful point for a foreign-owned company is narrower: the parties must distinguish a compliance anomaly, an ordinary commercial disagreement, and a bank\u2019s decision to end a contractual relationship.<\/p>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n