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Sophie COUTURIER

Sophie Couturier is Counsel in charge of the Criminal law and Human Rights division in Zabaldano Lawyers.

With over 13 years of experience in Monegasque law and several years spent as a lawyer at the bars of Brussels and Nice, Sophie applies her wealth of knowledge and technical ability in corporate crime and European Human Rights law to advising clients including individuals such as directors, senior employees, high-net-worth individuals and corporations.

Her main field of expertise is business criminal law and human rights. She works with Arnaud Zabaldano on several leading international criminal cases coordinating multi-disciplinary and multi-jurisdictional teams in order to ensure the best defence for local and foreign clients. She also helps to ensure that the fundamental rights of clients involved in criminal proceedings in Monaco or abroad are respected (in the context of international mutual assistance requests and extradition requests addressed to the Monegasque authorities).

Significant recent achievements include:

  • Successfully obtaining annulment of mutual legal assistance enforcement measures carried out in violation of the right to privacy;
  • Successfully obtaining, alongside British Counsel, refusal of extradition to Russia of a Russian citizen due to the risk of ill treatment;
  • Successfully obtaining the withdrawal of notices from Interpol obtained by foreign authorities in violation of Interpol regulations;
  • Assisting clients who have been victims of abuse of process in Eastern European countries;
  • Successfully obtaining the release of frozen accounts in breach of anti-money laundering regulation;
  • Successfully obtaining the withdrawal of personal data processed in violation of the right to privacy;
  • Successfully assisting clients in investigation proceedings of large-scale corruption cases.

Education

  • Masters Degree in Law
  • Admitted at the Brussels Bar

Languages

  • Bilingual French and English
  • Knowledge of Dutch