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Bernard Arnault faces probe over dealings with Russian oligarch

Paris public prosecutor's office said a preliminary investigation had been launched in 2022 and confirmed that transactions involving French billionaire Arnault and Russian businessman Nikolai Sarkisov had been attached to these. The probe concerns the pair's activities in Courchevel in the French Alps.

La rédaction de Mediapart

29 September 2023 à 13h31

This article is freely available.

Europe’s richest man Bernard Arnault has been placed under investigation for alleged money laundering over his links to Russian oligarch Nikolai Sarkisov, reports The Telegraph.

The inquiry concerns their activities in Courchevel, a ski resort in the French Alps known for being a playground for the ultra-rich, Paris prosecutors said late Thursday.

The French economy ministry’s financial intelligence unit is leading the investigation, but has yet to determine whether any crime had been committed, a source close to the investigation told AFP.

French daily Le Monde, citing the Tracfin financial intelligence unit, reported that the 55-year old Russian billionaire had acquired 14 housing units from a single seller in 2018 for €16m million (£13.9m) in a complex deal involving companies based in France, Luxembourg and Cyprus.

Although he is believed to be the buyer, Sarkisov’s name appears nowhere on the books of the company carrying out the purchase.

Read more of this report from The Telegraph.

La rédaction de Mediapart

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