Legal possibilities to seize funds on bank accounts in Monaco.
In Monaco, it is possible to freeze the bank accounts of natural or legal persons, which in practice means blocking all debit or credit transactions from or to an account held by a banking institution.
Depending on the type of attachment on the account, the account holder may find out about it through a notification from his bank, a notice from the bailiff or he may simply notice that he cannot make any transactions from his account held with the bank.
Bank seizures ordered in criminal proceedings
The seizure of a bank account may be the result of ongoing criminal proceedings conducted by an investigating judge who has the power to freeze the bank accounts of persons subject to criminal proceedings and the bank accounts of legal persons if the person involved in the criminal proceedings is the beneficial owner of such legal entities.
The prerogatives of investigating judges in this regard can be explained by the need to facilitate pending criminal proceedings, the suspicion that the funds accumulated in the account come from crime and the risk of their disappearance.
In order to challenge the freezing order in the course of criminal proceedings, the person who is the beneficiary of the bank account may submit a detailed application presenting his reasons in order to ask the judge to fully or partially set aside the order to freeze the account, in particular to cover the necessary expenses.
If the application is rejected, it is possible to appeal against the judge's decision to the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal. There is no limit to the number of such petitions that can be submitted. However, if the petition is rejected, it is generally best to wait until new facts emerge in the investigation before submitting a new application, or wait for the judge to change his mind about blocking the bank account of the person under the criminal proceedings.
Bank seizure ordered in civil proceedings
Freezing of bank accounts may also occur in enforcement proceedings in civil cases. Such an order may be ordered by the judge as a precautionary measure if the creditor demands payment of the debt and there is a risk that the debtor will cause the funds to disappear (in such a case, the funds are blocked until a final decision in the case is made). It is also possible to ask the judge to set aside the attachment, even if the substantive proceedings are still pending.
Attachment may also be made after a judgment has been pronounced in favor of the creditor if the debt is not voluntarily paid by the debtor. In this case, if the debtor does not contest the attachment within the statutory timeframe, the funds will be automatically assigned to the lender.
