A lawyer representing Bernard Arnault has refuted allegations of money laundering that led to a preliminary investigation by French prosecutors into the billionaire’s business dealings with a Russian entrepreneur, calling the claims “as absurd as they are unfounded.”
On Friday, the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office informed that Arnault, the owner of the French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, and Russian oligarch Nikolai Sarkisov, were under “preliminary investigation” for their alleged involvement in “transactions likely to constitute money laundering offenses.”
The investigation, which began last year, does not label Arnault or Sarkisov as suspects, nor have they been formally accused of any wrongdoing, according to the prosecutor’s office.
French publication Le Monde reported that a memo from Tracfin, the financial watchdog of the French economy ministry, was sent to the prosecutor’s office last December.
The memo allegedly states that Arnault lent €18.3 million ($19.3 million) to Sarkisov in 2018 through a private holding company.
In late 2018, Sarkisov purportedly used this loan to acquire several properties in the Alpine resort of Courchevel, where LVMH, Arnault’s company, owns the Cheval Blanc hotel.
The memo claims that some of these properties were purchased via SNC La Fleche, a firm indirectly owned by Sarkisov through a network of holding companies.
Arnault later acquired SNC La Fleche, according to Le Monde.
In a statement shared by LVMH on Saturday, Arnault’s lawyer, Jacqueline Laffont, asserted that “the operation carried out to facilitate the expansion of the Cheval Blanc hotel in Courchevel was well-known and conducted in accordance with the law. The ongoing investigation will undoubtedly confirm this.”
Laffont added, “Moreover, it is hard to believe that Mr. Bernard Arnault, who has spent 40 years building the leading French and European company, would resort to money laundering to expand a hotel.”
She did not provide additional details on the nature of the hotel’s expansion.
Representatives for Sarkisov told Le Monde that the Russian businessman was “not personally involved” in the transactions under scrutiny for suspected money laundering, and that, in 2018, “there were no known business ties between the two men.”
It is estimated that Arnault’s net worth is at $164 billion, making him the world’s second-richest person, just behind Elon Musk.
LVMH has reclaimed its status as Europe’s largest company by market capitalization, after briefly losing the title to Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk last month. Arnault’s company includes luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Moet & Chandon.
