Louis Guesdon

Prior to joining Skadden, Mr. Guesdon was a partner in a French boutique law firm that focused on criminal law, including financial and corporate criminal matters involving money laundering, tax fraud, market abuse, insider trading, embezzlement, bribery, bankruptcy crimes and the recovery of assets. He has advised governments, public officials, companies and executives on high-stakes criminal cases in France and abroad.

His work on transnational criminal cases has included matters involving extradition, corruption, freezing of assets, embargoes and international sanctions and multijurisdictional investigations, as well as Interpol data proceedings.

Mr. Guesdon has broad knowledge of the French criminal prosecution system due to frequent engagement with offices of investigating magistrates (juge d’instruction) and liberty and custody judges (juges des libertés et de la détention). He also regularly engages with the central offices of the judicial police (offices centraux de police judiciaire) and criminal courts that specialize in financial matters.

His experience prior to joining Skadden includes advising, among others:

• executives of a French CAC 40-listed corporation on international corporate criminal proceedings
• a global banking group executive against claims allegedly valued at more than €1.4 billion related to the Bernie Madoff case
• the chief financial officer of an agribusiness corporation in Parquet National Financier proceedings regarding alleged corporate tax fraud of more than €1 billion
• an executive of a global U.S.-based banking group in a tax fraud case involving an alleged €60 million in taxes related to a real estate investment in France originating from Luxembourg
• foreign states in relation to criminal and extradition proceedings in France
• the alleged intermediary in a corruption case involving large oil companies and €8 billion in oil and gas infrastructure contracts
• a public official in Africa charged in an “ill-gotten gains” money laundering case allegedly worth more than €150 million
• an individual in defending against money laundering and corruption allegations related to charges involving former French politician Patrick Balkany
• a former French Minister of Justice before the Cour de justice de la République in relation to an information leak