Kering Confirms French Tax Probe; Denies Fraud Allegations
17 Dezembro 2020 - 06:15AM
Dow Jones News
By Olivia Bugault
Kering on Thursday confirmed that it is under investigation by
the French finance authorities, but said it strongly denies
allegations of tax fraud.
The luxury-goods conglomerate said it had no previous knowledge
of the inquiry opened by the French National Financial Public
Prosecutor's Office in February 2019 and that it intends to
cooperate with authorities "in complete transparency and
serenity."
"The inquiry appears to be linked to the potential consequences
for Kering French companies resulting from legal proceedings
initiated in November 2017 involving LGI, the Group's Swiss
subsidiary," it said.
"The proceedings resulted in a settlement between Gucci and the
Italian tax authorities in May 2019," the company said, referring
to the Italian luxury fashion brand it owns.
Kering said the confirmation from French authorities about the
probe comes after a press article published Tuesday.
French news site Mediapart reported that the French authorities
were looking at a potential tax evasion scheme set up in
Switzerland.
According to the Mediapart article, the inquiry was opened after
the media reported in 2018 that Kering had allegedly avoided paying
a total of 2.5 billion euros ($3.05 billion) in taxes between 2010
and 2017 in different countries thanks to this system. The
mechanism would have allowed Kering to avoid paying at least EUR180
million of taxes in France, Mediapart reported.
"Kering refutes in the strongest possible terms the allegations
contained in the press article and forwarded by other media," the
owner of Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci said.
Write to Olivia Bugault at olivia.bugault@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 17, 2020 04:00 ET (09:00 GMT)
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