What is flight concealment?
Verified 04 September 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The flight concealment is the result of hide or keep something stolen by someone else. It is also the fact of to give or to act as intermediary to give a stolen thing, profit of the stolen thing. The person guilty of concealment risks the same penalties as the thief. We present you with the information you need to know.
Theft concealment is the holding, transfer, sale or purchase of property which we know has been stolen.
For example, a person buys a mobile phone knowing that it comes from a pickpocketing that is, it was taken out of the victim's pocket.
The author of the theft concealment must know that the thing came from a robbery. It's called the ‘receiver’.
The concealment is different from complicity in theft. For example, a person who keeps the loot of a burglary without participating in it is guilty of concealment, not complicity in theft. The receiver intervenes only after the flight commission.
The concealment is also the fact of to benefit from the sale money of a stolen object.
Hedging is not about the person in good faith who buys a second-hand good thinking that it belongs to the reseller. The good faith of the buyer will be examined during the course of the investigation or lawsuit.
The flight concealment shall be punished by 5 years in prison and €375,000 of fine.
The aggravated flight reception shall be punished more severely: 10 years in prison and €750,000 of fine. This penalty shall apply where it is committed habitually, using facilities provided by a profession or in an organized band.
The receiver may be punished with a fine of more than €375,000 and which can be up to half the value of the objects concealed. This is the case when these items have a value greater than the maximum fine incurred.
Additional penalties may be ordered, such as confiscation of the stolen object, prohibition of holding a public office, a professional activity or a weapon.
In any case, the stolen goods can be ordered to make good the damage suffered by the victim, just like the thief.
Please note
If the thief has not been identified or found, the thief may still be convicted of concealment.
The period of prescription of flight concealment is 6 years. This period shall begin to run from the day on which the stolen item is no longer held by the stolen goods collector.
Filing of complaint
If you're a victim, you can lodge a complaint against the perpetrator. If you don't know his identity, you can file a complaint against X. The complaint can be filed even if the perpetrator is abroad.
On the spot
To file a complaint, you must go to the police station or to the gendarme of your choice.
Police or gendarmerie services are obliged to register your complaint if you are a victim of infringement.
The complaint is then forwarded to the public prosecutor for him to decide on what to do next (investigation, no follow-up classification, etc.).
If you don't know the perpetrator, you can fill out a online pre-complaint before you move.
Then you need to sign your complaint on-site in the police station or the gendarmerie brigade that you chose.
By mail
You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.
To do this, you must send an email to the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.
Who shall I contact
Your mail should include the following:
- Your marital status and full contact information (address and telephone number)
- Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
- Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
- Name and address of any witnesses to the offense
- Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
- Your proof documents: medical certificates, work stoppages, photographs, videos, miscellaneous invoices, findings, etc.
You can use the following mail template:
File a complaint with the public prosecutor
You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.
You can also file your complaint directly at the courthouse.
In any case, a receipt is given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.
You can be assisted by a lawyer if you wish.
Who shall I contact
Please note
If you have low resources, you can apply for legal aid to pay the costs of a lawyer in whole or in part.
You have a deadline of 6 years to file a complaint.
That limitation period shall begin the last day on which the offense is committed (i.e. the day the suspect separated from the object of the robbery).
When you file a complaint, a police or gendarmerie department is responsible for investigating. The final decision on the direction of the complaint shall be taken by the public prosecutor.
Claim for compensation for damage
You can ask for damages for the compensation of the damage caused to you by the theft civil party following the filing of the complaint.
You can request a copy of the statement of complaint.
The damage to be repaired concerns both the object of the theft (if it cannot be repaid) and the ancillary damage (broken door, moral damage...).
Request for return of stolen item
The property may be in the person who received the theft or may have been sold.
Depending on the good or bad faith of the buyer, the procedure to be carried out for the return of the object is different. Only the real owner can do it.
Author of the receipt
If the object was found during the police or gendarmerie investigation at the home of the concealer, you can request its return during the investigation.
Good faith buyer
A person who has purchased an object that has been stolen may be considered in good faith if he proves that he did not know the illegal origin of the property. For example, this is the case if the product was packaged and the seller submitted invoices.
The owner can claim his item from the buyer, during 3 years from the day of the flight.
If the purchase was made at a fair, market, public sale or at a merchant selling this type of item, the owner will have to refund to the buyer the price he paid.
In the event of a dispute, the owner can take legal action to claim the return of his property and have the amount of the refund assessed for the buyer.
The competent court depends on the sums involved in the dispute.
- For a case less than or equal to €10,000, it is the local court or the judicial court.
- For a case greater than €10,000No, it's the court.
Who shall I contact
Bad faith buyer
If the buyer is acting in bad faith, that is, knowing the doubtful origin of the property, the owner will be able to ask the return of property.
He will be able to ask for it at any time, either during the police or gendarmerie investigation or after the trial in court if there has been a prosecution.
The court may refuse judicial restitution where it presents a danger to persons, property or where the seized property was used to commit the offense.
The owner can ask for damages to the reseller of his property, if he proves that the reseller was aware of his doubtful origin.
You have to use the form and send it to the court.
Request for the return of an object placed in the hands of the court
Who shall I contact
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
For information
Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
For more information on this topic, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Cost: free service
The informants who answer you are from the Department of Justice.
Attention: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their status.
The service is available at the following times:
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For information
116 006 - Victim Assistance Number
Listen, inform and advise victims of crime and their families.
By telephone
116,006
Free call
Open 7 days a week from 9am to 7pm
The service can also be accessed by calling the +33 (0)1 80 52 33 76 (Normal pricing number).
By email
victimes@france-victimes.fr
To be assisted
LawyerTo file a complaint
Office of the CommissionerTo file a complaint
Police Department
Penalties for harboring
Additional penalties
Limitation period
Offenses assimilated to or related to the stolen goods
Return of stolen item (buyer in good faith)
Return of Stolen Item (Bad Faith Buyer)
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