Félix de Belloy

Félix de Belloy’s practice focuses on litigation, primarily white-collar matters and commercial litigation. He and his team represent a wide range of high-profile individuals and handle matters involving cross-border corruption issues. 

Félix is ranked as a leading practitioner in Criminal defense as well as in white-collar and commercial litigation (Legal 500 Paris, Best Lawyers France, Décideurs). In Chambers, Félix de Belloy is praised by one source for his ability to “get formidable results.” (Europe/France guide, White-collar Crime, 2022). In The Legal 500, Félix is described as, “a recognized star, with high-level technique that is matched by his strong presence in courts.” (EMEA guide, Dispute Resolution: White-collar Crime, 2022).

Félix was elected Premier Secretary of the Conférence du Stage in 2004. The Conférence du Stage is a prestigious association of French lawyers founded in 1810, which brings together twelve young lawyers elected by their peers (following a three-round oratory contest), working as a special task force on sensitive criminal cases.

Prior to joining Hughes Hubbard, Félix was an associate and partner at Beaussier & Associés (which later merged with White & Case, Beaussier being appointed head of its White-Collar Crime Department). In 2009, he was one of the three founding partners of Boken Avocats (former “Beauquier, Belloy & Gauvain”), a French litigation boutique firm specializing in white collar-crime defense and commercial litigation.

Félix is a graduate of University Paris V Paris-Descartes and University Paris II Panthéon – Assas.

Cross Border/Financial Matters

• Defense of the former President and shareholder of the Landsbanki, charged with allegations of fraud after the bankruptcy of the Icelandic banking system in 2008
• Advised a major French bank during judicial investigations in Jersey (UK) for money-laundering
• Advised a major US company during judicial investigations in Paris for corruption/FCPA violations in West Africa
• Assisted a major French bank’s Treasurer in the Libor case, in investigations spanning the US, UK and France
• Advised two bank managers facing prosecution in the US (DoJ) and in France (PNF) for alleged bribery in Libya
• Advised several members of a family in an action against a French bank, facing a claim of more than € 300 million and criminal allegations in France and the US

Financial/Political Matters

• Advised the former Prime Minister Edouard Balladur in the “Karachi” case
• Advised Gabonese President Bongo’s heirs and assigns in the “ill-gotten gains” judicial proceedings brought by the French authorities
• Represented a Saudi businessman who allegedly bribed a French political figure 

Unintentional offences and criminal labor

• Defense of the Director of an industrial plant charged with involuntary homicide following asbestos-related deaths resulting in dismissal of the case
• Defense of an industrial group prosecuted for unintentional injuries and reckless endangerment following a number of workplace accidents
• Implementation of delegations of authority at a company in the financial sector
  

Pro Bono

• Represented  a French citizen detained at Guantanamo Bay (acquittal obtained after 3 years of detention in Guantanamo and 2 years of detention in France)
• Represented Sikh students, in a claim for religious discrimination against the French State which banned them from wearing Sikh turbans at school
• Class action against the French State for ethnic profiling which resulted a successful outcome after litigation spanning five years and  a Court decision recognizing, for the first time in France, racial discrimination during “stop and search” police operations