French fast-fashion billionaire Xavier Niel has been accused by tax authorities of hiding 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) from the taxman in a case that has sent shockwaves through the country’s business community.
Niel, the founder of telecoms and media group Iliad and the co-founder of the successful low-cost mobile operator Free, is alleged to have set up a complex network of offshore companies in order to avoid paying taxes on his vast fortune.
According to a report by the French newspaper Le Monde, Niel is suspected of using a series of shell companies in Luxembourg and Switzerland to conceal his assets and avoid paying taxes on his income from dividends and capital gains.
The newspaper claims that Niel’s offshore holdings were uncovered by investigators from the French tax authority, the Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), who have been investigating his financial affairs for several years.
The DGFiP is said to have identified a number of suspicious transactions involving Niel’s offshore companies, including the transfer of large sums of money between the companies and the purchase of luxury properties in France and abroad.
Niel has denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to fight the allegations, which he claims are politically motivated.
However, if he is found guilty of tax evasion, he could face a heavy fine and a prison sentence.
The case against Niel is the latest in a series of high-profile tax evasion cases involving wealthy individuals in France.
In recent years, a number of celebrities and business leaders have been convicted of tax evasion, including former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and football star Karim Benzema.
The French government has vowed to crack down on tax evasion and has introduced a number of new measures to combat the problem.
However, critics say that the government is not doing enough to tackle tax evasion among the wealthy and that the current system is too lenient.
The trial of Xavier Niel is expected to begin later this year and is likely to be a major test case for the French government’s efforts to combat tax evasion..
