LVMH boss under investigation

French authorities are investigating LVMH boss - billionaire Bernard Arnault and Russian tycoon Nikolai Sarkisov for possible involvement in money laundering.

Billionaire Bernard Arnault and Russian tycoon Nikolai Sarkisov are "under preliminary investigation" for allegedly engaging in "transactions that could constitute money laundering," the Paris Prosecutor's Office told CNN . Earlier, the French newspaper Le Monde also reported this.

The preliminary investigation means Arnault is not considered a suspect and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. The prosecutor's office said it received a report from Tracfin (the French Ministry of Economy 's financial watchdog) regarding real estate transactions involving Arnault and Sarkisov. This report was added to a preliminary investigation that began in 2022 and concerns the Russian oligarch's activities in France.

Billionaire Bernard Arnault (left) and Russian tycoon Nikolai Sarkisov. Photo: AP, Reuters

Le Monde said that the above minutes were sent by Tracfin to the Prosecutor's Office in Lyon in December 2022. The case was then "quickly" transferred to the Paris Prosecutor's Office.

According to the memorandum, Sarkisov’s companies bought 14 properties in the French resort of Courchevel in 2018 for 16 million euros ($17 million), through a complex network of companies in France, Luxembourg and Cyprus.

Sarkisov's name does not appear on any of the records of the company that made these purchases, SNC La Fleche. According to Tracfin, Sarkisov is the real owner of SNC La Fleche.

Around the same time, Le Monde reported that SNC La Fleche bought three other properties in the same area from a company called SNC Croix Realty, for 2.2 million euros. Sarkisov is also said to own SNC Croix Realty.

Tracfin claims that through his own company, French billionaire Bernard Arnault lent Sarkisov 18.3 million euros ($19.4 million) to carry out the above deals. According to Le Monde, the LVMH boss then bought La Fleche in December 2018.

The investigation is therefore focused on explaining Arnault's actions. "The change of ownership of these assets appears to have been intended to conceal the origin of the money, complicate the transactions and make it difficult to identify the real buyer," Trafin investigators said. They suspect this is a case of "money laundering".

Le Monde quoted a source close to Arnault as saying the transactions "strictly complied with the law". Sarkisov's representative also said the Russian tycoon "did not participate" in these transactions and "has no business relationship" with Arnault.

Sarkisov is not currently on the list of individuals sanctioned by the West after the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He holds a key position in the insurance company RESO-Garantia (Russia) of his brother - Sergey. Sarkisov was a billionaire, with 1.1 billion USD in 2014, according to Forbes.

Arnault is the CEO and chairman of the world's largest luxury goods empire, LVMH. He is currently the second richest person in the world with a fortune of 187 billion USD, according to Forbes.

Ha Thu (according to CNN, Le Monde)

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