In June 2020, the news that the EncroChat servers had been infiltrated broke to the masses making many users feel on edge throughout the process of the court proceedings.
This has not only occurred in the UK but all across Europe as drug organisations across the continent have begun to fall victim to what the police have named “Operation Venetic”.
In more recent memory, the French courts have been through another EncroChat ruling that looked to prosecute more EncroChat users due to their unlawful use of their services.
Continue reading to find out more about this case and what was eventually found to be the final ruling in the court.
The Background of EncroChat
Before it was shut down due to Operation Venetic, EncroChat was a mobile phone company that aimed to provide its customers with completely encrypted mobile phones in order to be safe from malicious hackers in the area.
This type of service is by no means illegal to provide however it has been common to raise suspicion among law enforcement due to the level of secrecy that EncroChat offered.
While users were completely safe from malicious hackers, it also meant that law enforcement was not able to access these services which inadvertently attracted the attention of many of Europe’s largest criminal organisations.
As stated previously, EncroChat servers were shut down after the infiltration of Operation Venetic in June of 2020 which has largely put a stop to the encrypted communications between criminal organisations.
Was Operation Venetic Legal?
As we have discussed before, Operation Venetic was the name given by police for the hacking of EncroChat servers in order to crack down on some of Europe’s biggest criminal organisations.
The way in which servers were hacked by law enforcement would beg the question of whether Operation Venetic is legal or not due to the fact that, traditionally, any police evidence that was obtained via interception would be deemed not admissible as evidence in a court of law.
This has been the argument of many defence lawyers surrounding the case as this is still the law in most areas of Europe – however, there has been some rebuttal to these claims which have, in fact, stated that the information was obtained in accordance with the law.
Section 6(1)(c)(i) of section 56 of the investigatory powers act states that obtaining information through these mediums is legal “in the case of communication stored in or by a telecommunication system”
This has been the cause of most of the prosecutions that have already been made in the name of Operation Venetic as it has been a consensus to state that the evidence was obtained lawfully (although this is not always the case).
Encrochat cases can be difficult to understand, but at Encrochat Solicitors, we are here to help.
The Ruling of the EncroChat Case
As we stated earlier, there has been a ruling on EncroChat court cases in France that will be definitive for the future of EncroChat court cases across Europe.
There are some crucial details that people must know of the French Code of Criminal Procedure as it states some vitally important things that would be beneficial to know if you find yourself in the midst of EncroChat allegations.
The code states that the use of technical devices is permitted in order to capture data from a computer or other device. This means that interceptive or hacking devices are permitted in order to obtain information.
This encrypted data should then be accompanied by a “certificate of veracity” from a technical official which shows the legitimacy of the data that has been obtained.
Finally, in April 2022, the French Constitutional Court held the “defence secrecy” exception was not unconstitutional. This meant that the Code allowed some means for courts to balance rights and interests in cases.
This led to the French Supreme Court considering an appeal based on these three different grounds, two of which were rejected and one being granted in part.
While the second ground did not relate specifically to the EncroChat court cases, the first and third were vital in potentially providing more clarity on their stance on operation venetic.
EncroChat Defence Solicitors
At EncroChat Solicitors, we will be sure to provide you with as much legal support as we can possibly offer while you are in our care. Legal defence is something that everyone is entitled to and we are here to provide you with the correct defence case for your EncroChat allegations.
We look to create a connection with each of our clients to ensure that we are maintaining the highest standards throughout your trial. This means that we will treat your defence case with the care and consideration that it deserves without thinking of you as “just another case”
Our legal defence services aim to provide people across the UK with a cost-efficient option for defence in a court of law without being negligible towards our clients. We take each and every consideration that you have with us and treat your case as our own.
While we are a UK-based organisation, we will be available at any time to discuss the legality of your EncroChat activity based on our knowledge of the law in other European countries.
Conclusion
To conclude, the French judicial system has largely found that EncroChat evidence is not admissible as evidence if the prosecutors have obtained their evidence through interception.
This is a fairly common argument that many people across Europe have used to defend themselves against the EncroChat allegations in a court of law. This has allowed people to build a complete defence case that could keep them out of jail despite a potential lack of involvement in criminal activities across the servers.
If you would like to get in touch with us to enquire about our services, please contact us at 0330 133 6541 and we will be happy to take a look at your case and help with any of your legal troubles when dealing with Encrochat allegations.
