![]() ![]() It then transmitted several reports to the financial prosecutor's office as required by law for the largest cases. Following lengthy audits, the Direction générale des finances publiques (General direction of public finance, DGFiP) which reports to the finance ministry carried out first tax reassessments at the end of 2021 for amounts ranging from tens to hundreds of millions of euros. ![]() Large French banks were already in the crosshairs of the tax authorities since these techniques were identified, in 2017. They involve a large resources with 160 investigators from the finance ministry, 16 magistrates spread over various locations as well as six German magistrates from the Cologne public prosecutor's office under a mutual legal assistance agreement between France and Germany. The searches at the headquarters of the five financial institutions began at 9:30 am on Tuesday morning and were still underway by midday. This tax "hold-up" method, which has long flourished thanks to an ambiguous legal environment, could soon become something of the past as judicial and tax authorities coordinate their actions to clamp down on offenders. Behind this Latin term lies a widespread practice within financial institutions consisting of setting up complex financial operations to avoid paying taxes on dividends due by shareholders of listed companies. Dubbed "CumCum," it results in several billion euros of lost tax revenue each year. These legal proceedings arose from a financial scandal revealed by Le Monde in 2018. The companies haven't commented on the news yet. BNP and Exane are also suspected of aggravated tax fraud. According to Le Monde findings, five financial institutions were simultaneously searched as part of investigations launched by the Parquet National Financier (France's national financial prosecutor, PNF) in December 2021.įrance's Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Exane (a financial services company owned by BNP Paribas) and Natixis as well as British banking powerhouse HSBC are suspected of aggravated money laundering stemming from aggravated tax fraud. Subscribers only AGATHE DAHYOT / « LE MONDE »Īn unprecedented operation was underway in Paris on Tuesday, March 28. BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Exane, Natixis and HSBC offices searched as part of tax fraud scandalįrance's financial prosecutor suspects the banks of having allowed foreign clients to escape dividend taxation using 'CumCum,' a practice revealed by 'Le Monde' in 2018.īy Anne Michel, Jérémie Baruch and Maxime Vaudano Published on March 28, 2023, at 2:43 pm (Paris), updated on March 29, 2023, at 9:37 am ![]()
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