The French billionaire Bernard Arnaultpresident and CEO of the luxury empire LMVHand Russian oligarch Nikolai Sarkisov are being investigated for alleged money laundering in a tourist town in the Alps, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Thursday.
According to this source, which confirms information from the newspaper Le Monde, the procedure included a report from the financial intelligence unit of the French Ministry of Economy on the operations of both magnates in the select ski town of Courchevelknown as a playground of oligarchs.
Based on this report, the French newspaper claims that Sarkisov55, purchased 14 real estate properties in Courchevel in 2018 for 16 million euros (US$ 16.9 million) through a complex network of companies in France, Luxembourg and Cyprus.
Officially, the buyer was the La Flèche company. The oligarch’s name does not appear in its statutes, although he was the effective owner.
Through this firm he bought three other properties in the same ski resort for 2.2 million euros (US$ 2.3 million) that generated a capital gain of 1.2 million euros from another company, Croix Realty, of which he is also the owner. through another complex business network.
To finance these operations, Arnaultone of the main fortunes in the world and owner of LMVH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), transferred 18.3 million euros (US$ 19.3 million) to Sarkisov.
He then purchased the entire La Flèche firm, becoming the effective beneficiary of these properties.
Researchers from the French Ministry of Economy, cited by Le Monde, consider that this network seeks “hide the exact origin of the funds” and “to disguise the effective beneficiary of all these operations, that is, Bernard Arnault”.
Requested by AFP, the LMVH group declined to comment. A spokesman told Le Monde newspaper that the operation was “carried out in the strictest respect for the law”.
The oligarch’s entourage, cited by Le Monde, the capital gain from the operation was only “a few hundred thousand euros” and Sarkisov “was not personally involved” in her.
They confirm investigation
The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed on Friday that it is investigating financial transactions involving the owner of LVMHBernard Arnault, and the Russian businessman Nikolai Sarkisov.
He confirmed the opening of a preliminary investigation, which in France does not necessarily imply the commission of a crime by those involved, for whom the presumption of innocence governs.
Arnault’s spokesman declined to comment. Sarkisov could not immediately be reached to discuss the situation.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement emailed to Reuters that a preliminary investigation was launched in 2022 and confirmed that transactions involving Arnault and Sarkisov had been attached to it. He added that he will not comment further on the ongoing investigations.
With information from AFP and Reuters
Source: Gestion
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