Tax fraud investigators search Netflix offices in Paris and Amsterdam: source

INVESTIGATORS searched the offices of US streaming giant Netflix in France and the Netherlands as part of a preliminary investigation into tax evasion laundering, a French judicial source said on Tuesday (November 5).

french paper MarianneInvestigators specializing in financial crimes and corruption raided the company’s offices in central Paris on Tuesday morning, the organization that first reported the searches said.

The French investigation, conducted by the PNF, a special financial crime prosecution unit renowned for carrying out high-risk white-collar investigations often involving large international companies, was opened in November 2022.

The French judicial source said Dutch authorities were simultaneously searching the company’s European headquarters in Amsterdam.

Netflix representatives in France did not immediately respond to Reuters’ phone calls and emailed requests for comment. Representatives in the Netherlands could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Dutch financial crimes prosecutor’s office declined to comment and referred questions to the PNF.

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“Cooperation between French and Dutch authorities has been going on for months as part of these transactions,” the French source said.

A preliminary investigation in France does not imply criminal charges and does not necessarily result in a trial.

The facts that led to the investigation were not immediately clear.

Big tech companies that offer their online services and subscriptions across borders often run into trouble with European tax authorities.

Netflix had agreed to resolve its tax dispute with Italy in 2022 by paying 55.8 million euros (S$80 million).

Netflix said on its website that it opened its Paris office, located in the immediate vicinity of Opera Garnier, in 2020, employing around 40 staff.

The company produces many of its original films and series, including global blockbusters Emily in Paris by working with third-party contractors. REUTERS