Bernard Arnault was pointed out about dangerous connections – Kommersant FM

France’s richest businessman faces up to 10 years in prison for dealings with a Russian. The Paris prosecutor’s office has officially confirmed the fact of a preliminary investigation against the head of the LVMH holding Bernard Arnault. The claims are based on the purchase of real estate in Courchevel from Russian billionaire Nikolai Sarkisov, co-owner of the RESO-Garantia group. The transaction allegedly took place through a chain of offshore companies registered in Cyprus and Luxembourg, which raised suspicions among the French authorities of money laundering. “Kommersant FM” managed to find out some details of this purchase and figure out what threatens those involved in the investigation. Everything that is known about this case will be told by Ivan Yakunin.

The French newspaper Le Monde was the first to reveal the scheme, which interested the security forces. In 2018, several companies bought 14 apartments in Courchevel worth €16 million. As it turned out later, the final beneficiary of these purchases was the Cypriot company La Fleche, allegedly affiliated with billionaire Nikolai Sarkisov. The nuance is that Bernard Arnault allegedly first issued a loan for this purchase and then bought the entire structure, which allowed Sarkisov to earn about €2 million. Kommersant FM contacted Igor Ivanov, deputy general director of RESO-Garantiya for marketing, for an explanation. He warned that the company has nothing to do with the transactions, but he knows some details:

“In Courchevel, in some old apartment building, several apartments were purchased with the goal of turning this building into a hotel after reconstruction. Nikolai Sarkisov himself had no intention of running a hotel there. They were bought from him by a developer who was supposed to turn it all into a hotel.

A simple deal. The man accumulated these apartments and resold them. This is his personal money, the transaction was transparent and complied with all the requirements of French law. The companies that participated in this in the interests of the Russian investor paid all taxes to the French budget.”

Arnault’s lawyers react in much the same way. They reported to Bloomberg that there really was a deal: the businessman’s structures were trying to expand the Cheval Blanc Hotel, one of the most expensive hotels in the Courchevel 1850 resort. But all legal requirements were observed. The main argument of lawyer Jacqueline Laffont sounds like this: Bernard Arnault built one of the largest companies in Europe and engaging in money laundering for the sake of one hotel is simply insane. She called the suspicions themselves absurd and unfounded. Perhaps the security forces were interested not in the deal itself, but in its participants, admits anti-corruption expert Ilya Shumanov, whom the Ministry of Justice considers a foreign agent:

“There is already a whole tangle of scandals associated with the Sarkisovs in France for their insurance company. A criminal case is being investigated against the French ex-president; he is suspected of receiving a bribe. The Sarkisovs confirmed that they paid Nicolas Sarkozy €3 million. Of course, this is a much larger story than the acquisition of some hotels. I think they have not been excluded from attention since that period of time. With the start of a special military operation, the entire subject of research, what crimes are possible in the European Union, is in any case assessed through the prism of Russian influence.”

Nikolai Sarkisov himself did not answer Kommersant FM’s call. Journalists have known for a long time that he often visited Courchevel, but his business interests in this region had not previously been reported. He wanted to develop a ski resort only in Armenia, at least that’s what the local press writes. The French media, however, also stipulate that for now we are only talking about an inspection, which will not necessarily end in a criminal case. But if it comes to this, the deadlines will be considerable, said Nikita Kuznetsov, a member of the Paris Chamber of Lawyers:

“Article 324 of the Criminal Code provides that money laundering is punishable by up to five years and a fine of up to €375 thousand. The penalty can increase to 10 years and a fine of up to €750 thousand.

If the act was committed by a group of people, and most often money laundering is a complex operation, it can be assumed from the very beginning that in this case the punishment, if the offense is, of course, proven, can be increased.”

Le Monde claims that law enforcement officers were confused by the complexity of the deal: chains of companies from different countries could help hide the source of the money and the final beneficiaries. Officially, however, this was not confirmed. The Paris prosecutor’s office generally refused to disclose details, except for one: the investigation began in 2022 – four years after the deal itself. It seems clear what the trigger was.

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