The French Financial Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the founder of PIK, Kirill Pisarev

The French financial prosecutor’s office opened a money laundering and tax evasion case related to the reconstruction of a hotel on the Cote d’Azur, which belongs to the co-founder and former shareholder of PIK Group Kirill Pisarev, the newspaper writes. Le Monde with reference to sources. The press service of the development company of Mr. Pisarev Wainbridge International stated Forbesthat the case was opened against the company’s former counterparties.

According to the publication, the prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case at the request of the Directorate of Intelligence and Combating Underground Financial Schemes (Tracfin) under the French Ministry of Economy and Finance.

According to the newspaper nice matin, the investigation is related to the reconstruction of the hotel La voile d’Or in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the Côte d’Azur. The publication reports that Mr. Pisarev bought the hotel in 2019. In October 2021, Wainbridge International decided to completely demolish it and rebuild it, but work has not begun. The city’s mayor, Jean Francois Dietrich, told the newspaper that the delay in reconstruction is due to the difficulty of finding funding, especially “if you are Russian.”

Later, the press service of Waindbridge International told Forbes that it was not aware that the company or its leaders were the subject of an investigation by the French prosecutor’s office. “At the moment, law enforcement officers of the Fifth Republic are investigating the actions of former Wainbridge counterparties suspected of violating anti-money laundering laws. Wainbridge is the injured party in this investigation,” the developer said in a statement.

In September 2022 Kirill Pisarev ceased to be the owner of the Russian division of Wainbridge. It was bought by local management. In addition to France, Wainbridge is engaged in development, in particular, in Monaco, the USA and the Caribbean.

Erdni Kagaltynov