Tax fraud: French tax authorities demand €331 million from Mohed Altrad, owner of MHR
The boss of Montpellier Hérault Rugby, also sponsor of the French XV, is the subject of an investigation for aggravated tax fraud and money laundering in an organised crime group.
Tax fraud: French tax authorities demand €331 million from Mohed Altrad, owner of MHR
French tax authorities are demanding €331 million from the businessman at the head of Montpellier Hérault Rugby, who also appears on the shirts of the French national rugby team. This colossal sum is at the heart of criminal proceedings opened for aggravated tax fraud and laundering of these funds in association with criminals, reports L'Équipe based on an investigation by Mediapart.
The affair began in mid-April, when tax authorities filed a complaint. The national financial prosecutor's office confirmed that administrative searches had been carried out in premises located on French territory during the past week. Approximately fifty agents from the National Anti-Fraud Office were dispatched to the field. Several individuals were summoned to be interviewed as suspects, but no detention measures were applied.
According to an internal company witness, an evasion mechanism would have made it possible to conceal between 23 and 86 million euros each year between 2018 and 2024, for an estimated total of 350-400 million. The sums would have been routed to an entity based in Dubai, founded in 2017 under the name Altrad Hub DMCC. The various branches of the group made periodic payments to this company established in a tax-advantaged jurisdiction, officially in exchange for the exploitation of the brand and the expertise of this structure which would have around ten employees.
The journalistic investigation reveals that the flows destined for this Emirati unit would have been used for at least two years to pay for the partnership with the French Rugby Federation. This collaboration dates back nearly ten years. The initial agreement was concluded when Bernard Laporte was running the body, before the two men were convicted in the first instance in a separate case; their appeal hearing is scheduled for March 2027. The renewal was ratified under the current mandate of Florian Grill, with the particular feature that the signature would now be that of Altrad Hub.
When questioned, the FFR preferred not to comment. The person in question would have sought to find common ground with the Finance Ministry, without preventing tax authorities from referring the matter to justice. The investigations benefit from strengthened cooperation between French and Emirati judiciaries, marked by the presence of a liaison judge in Abu Dhabi for nearly three years.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)