Crypto‑Assets, Foreign Accounts and French Criminal Tax Risk: Where the 100,000 € Line Really Is

France is moving from curiosity to hard pressure on crypto‑assets and foreign accounts.

For taxpayers involved in complex international tax disputes involving France, this is where technical reporting rules meet very real criminal exposure.

According to the French authorities, around 150,000 declarations of crypto‑asset accounts have been filed, while an estimated 5 million people in France hold such assets.

The gap speaks for itself and explains why DAC 8, extended reporting obligations and heavier penalties are now at the heart of the strategy.

1. DAC 8: aligning crypto with foreign account rules

The draft Finance Bill for 2025 provides for the transposition of Directive DAC 8 on digital assets into French law, with an implementation date of 1 January 2026.

The objective is to align the rules on crypto‑assets with those already applicable to traditional foreign bank accounts, in terms of limitation periods, controls and sanctions.

This means that, over time, crypto‑asset accounts held with foreign platforms will be treated in a similar way to bank accounts in a foreign financial institution.

For UHNW investors and entrepreneurs, crypto‑assets become a fully integrated part of French criminal tax procedure not a separate universe.

2. Current fines for undeclared crypto‑asset accounts

Failure to declare accounts containing digital assets (such as cryptocurrencies) currently exposes you to specific administrative fines.

By default:

• €750 per undeclared account, and
• €125 per omission or inaccuracy, with a cap of €10,000 per declaration.

When the market value of the digital‑asset accounts exceeds €50,000 at any time during the year, the fines increase to:

• €1,500 per undeclared account, and
• €250 per omission or inaccuracy.

These penalties apply in addition to any back taxes and surcharges on income tax or capital gains.

They are a first layer of risk, which can escalate into criminal tax exposure once certain thresholds are crossed.

3. Foreign accounts without digital assets: long reach and heavy penalties

For foreign accounts that do not hold digital assets, France already applies a strict regime.

Failure to declare such accounts is punishable by a €1,500 fine per account.

If the account is located in a country that does not have an agreement with France to combat tax fraud and evasion, the fine increases to €10,000 per account.

The tax administration’s right of recovery extends up to ten years for income tax when foreign accounts are not properly declared.

In complex international tax disputes involving France, this extended limitation period can transform forgotten accounts into a decade‑long exposure.

The interplay with French Tax Offence Commission (CIF) referrals can then decide whether the case moves into the criminal arena.

4. Information exchange: why “they won’t find out” is no longer realistic

France participates in international agreements that allow automatic exchange of banking information concerning accounts held abroad.

In many jurisdictions, the FTA can access data on your accounts without even having to make a specific request, regardless of the account balance.

With DAC 8, this logic extends to major crypto‑asset platforms such as Binance, Coinbase or Kraken.

These operators will be required to collect and report information on transactions, account balances and account holders, generating yearly summary reports sent automatically to the French authorities.

This is a direct extension of the increased use of tax searches and domiciliary visits in high‑risk cases.

France estimates its lost tax revenue on crypto at at least €1 billion per year.

If you hold crypto‑assets or foreign accounts and you are unsure whether your situation is fully compliant in France, waiting usually makes the problem bigger.

DPZ Avocats offers a paid 45‑minute first consultation with Delphine Parigi to review your international accounts and digital assets, quantify the risks and design a safe path forward (defence and/or regularisation).

👉 BOOK A CALL : https://www.dpz-avocats.com/en/contact

5. When does it become criminal? The 80% penalty and €100,000 threshold

Individual investors are already required to declare capital gains from crypto as taxable income when they exceed €305 per year.

If the tax authorities discover amounts hidden in an undeclared foreign account, the additional tax is generally subject to an 80% penalty.

Adjustments in excess of €100,000, combined with an 80% penalty, are automatically referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and trigger a criminal procedure.

This “€100,000 + 80%” combination is one of the key thresholds that transform a purely tax dispute into a French criminal tax case.

For UHNW clients with significant crypto portfolios or offshore banking, it is easy to cross this line in a single year.

At that stage, aligning your defence with broader work on tax fraud intent and reliance on advisers becomes crucial.

6. Regularisation or defence: two paths, one need for clarity

If you have not filed the necessary declarations, you have essentially three options:

• Proactive regularisation, where you come forward before an audit or investigation, often with room to negotiate penalties.
• Defensive regularisation, when an audit has started but before any criminal referral, to limit both tax and criminal exposure.
• Pure defence, when criminal proceedings are already underway and the priority is to protect you from the most severe sanctions.

In all cases, the strategy must integrate both French criminal tax procedure and your long‑term international wealth structuring , so that you do not regularise today only to recreate the same vulnerabilities tomorrow.

7. How DPZ works on crypto and foreign accounts

DPZ’s approach to crypto and foreign‑account risk is deliberately holistic.

The goal is not just to “fix a year” but to stabilise your entire trajectory as an international taxpayer.

The support often includes:

• Mapping all accounts (bank, brokerage, platforms) and digital‑asset holdings, including historical movements.
• Simulating scenarios (no action, partial regularisation, full regularisation) from both a tax and criminal perspective.
• Coordinating with your existing advisers, including private banks and wealth planners, to align structures with French expectations.

When necessary, this work is combined with Expansion support to secure future relocations or corporate reorganisations.

8. Key points if you hold crypto or foreign accounts

If you are already investing or banking across borders:

• The French authorities view the current level of declared crypto‑asset accounts (≈150,000) as far below reality (≈5 million holders).
• Fines for undeclared accounts are significant and can rise sharply above €50,000 of crypto value or for accounts in non‑cooperative countries.
• Adjustments over €100,000 with an 80% penalty are automatically sent to the Public Prosecutor, turning your case into a criminal file.
• The combination of DAC 8, automatic banking information exchange and intensified controls makes “staying under the radar” increasingly unrealistic in complex international tax disputes involving France.