Europe’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, 74, is facing a money laundering investigation in France over a ‘ski resort ownership deal’ linked to Russian billionaire oligarch Nikolai Sarkisov
- French investigators have stepped up their investigation into Russian investors since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
French billionaire Bernard Arnault and Russian oligarch Nikolai Sarkisov are under investigation for alleged money laundering at a luxury mountain resort, according to prosecutors in Paris.
The investigation concerns their activities in Courchevel, a ski resort in the French Alps known as a playground for the ultra-rich, they said late Thursday.
The French Economy Ministry’s financial intelligence unit is leading the investigation but has yet to determine whether a crime was committed, a source close to the investigation told AFP. It is clear that they deny any wrongdoing.
French daily Le Monde, citing financial intelligence unit Tracfin, reported that the 55-year-old Russian billionaire had bought 14 properties from a single seller in 2018 for 16 million euros ($17 million at current rates) in a complex deal involving companies were involved. in France, Luxembourg and Cyprus.
Although he is believed to be the buyer, Sarkisov’s name does not appear anywhere on the books of the company carrying out the purchase.
LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault and his wife Helene Mercier arrive for a state dinner in honor of Britain’s King Charles III at the Chateau de Versailles earlier this month
The investigation concerns activities in Courchevel, a ski resort in the French Alps known as a playground for the ultra-rich
The company, called La Fleche, is said to have purchased three more real estate units from a second company that is also believed to be owned by Sarkisov.
According to the newspaper, the alleged sale of the real estate to a company he owns allowed the Russian to pocket a capital gain of 1.2 million euros.
Arnault – who heads the luxury empire LVMH and is, according to Forbes, the second richest person in the world after Elon Musk – is said to have lent Sarkisov 18.3 million euros for the deal.
It is then believed that he acquired La Fleche, effectively becoming the owner of the property portfolio.
The ownership change could have been designed “to conceal the exact origin of the funds,” Le Monde quoted a Tracfin document, as well as the identity of the “ultimate beneficiary.”
Investigators believe Sarkisov made two million euros from the operation, but they are still in the dark about how much he paid for the loan.
Contacted by AFP, LVMH declined to comment.
However, Le Monde quoted a spokesperson as saying the operation was “carried out with the strictest compliance with the law.”
The newspaper also quoted people close to Sarkisov as saying that the added value was “only a few hundreds of thousands of euros” and that the Russian had not been personally involved.
Le Monde said that according to ‘family lore’, Arnault has a special bond with Courchevel because it is where he learned to ski as a child and where he owns a country house and a luxury hotel.
Hotel prices at the resort can reach several tens of thousands of euros per night, the newspaper said.