Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Saturday, May 31, 2025

French authorities raid banks in massive tax fraud case

French authorities raided five banks on Tuesday as part of an investigation into suspected cases of massive tax fraud and money laundering, prosecutors said.
Some 150 investigators conducted searches in Paris and the financial district La Defense, the financial prosecutor's office (PNF) said in a statement.

The raids follow five preliminary investigations that were opened in December 2021 in connection with suspected money laundering and aggravated suspected tax fraud related to dividend payments, the statement said.

The operation "required several months of preparation", the statement said, and involved 16 investigating magistrates and more than 150 financial investigators.

Prosecutors from Germany, where similar tax frauds came to light in recent years, were also involved in the raids, the statement added.

A spokesman for Societe Generale confirmed to AFP that the French bank was being searched by authorities, but he said he did not know the reason.

French rival BNP Paribas and its Exane unit, financial group Natixis and British banking giant HSBC are the other targets of the raids, according to Le Monde newspaper.



Disappearing dividends
A group of European news outlets published an investigation dubbed the "CumEx-Files" into the tax fraud in 2018.

Its title referred to trading of shares with ("cum" in Latin) and without ("ex") dividends.

The amounts involved are suspected to have reached 140 billion euros ($151 billion) over a period of 20 years, the media group said in 2021.

Tuesday's raids stem from so-called "Cum-Cum" tax fraud.

"The fraud involves a foreign shareholder in a company listed in France temporarily transferring the shares he owns to a French banking institution, around the date the dividend is paid out," the PNF said.

The aim is "to avoid paying the tax applicable to the payment of this dividend," it added.

Banks are suspected of acting as intermediaries in the practice and even charging a commission to the investors taking part.

A German court in December sentenced lawyer Hanno Berger to eight years in prison over the "cum-ex" tax scam, convicting him of three counts of aggravated tax evasion.

The regional court found that the 72-year-old -- believed to be the original mastermind of the scheme -- helped arrange fraudulent transactions at German bank M.M. Warburg between 2007 and 2013 that cost Berlin's treasury 278 million euros.

In addition to the jail time, the court ordered 13.7 million euros ($14.8 million) of personal revenues from the scheme to be confiscated from Berger's accounts.

Berger only partially admitted wrongdoing during the proceedings, insisting that some of the transactions were legal at the time.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Iranian Director Jafar Panahi Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
Israeli Airstrike Kills Nine Children of Gaza Doctor
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki Erupts Again, Spewing Ash Cloud over Flores Island
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
Senate Democrats Move to Censure Trump Over Qatar Jet Gift
Hamas Releases Last Living US Hostage from Gaza Amid Ongoing Conflict
×