According to reports industry reports, Netflix‘s offices in Paris and Amsterdam were searched by tax fraud investigators.
A French judicial source indicated that the raid was part of a preliminary investigation into tax fraud laundering. A similar search also occurred at Netflix’s EMEA headquarters in Amsterdam.
According to reports, the French investigation was opened in November 2022 by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) and is being conducted by the AFP. The investigation concerns suspicions of “covering up serious tax fraud and off-the-books work.”
“Cooperation between the French and Dutch authorities has been underway for many months as part of these proceedings,” the French source said.
Representatives for Netflix France and EMEA did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
In France, a preliminary investigation does not necessarily mean criminal charges are forthcoming or a trial will occur. Reports also note that tech companies offering subscriptions worldwide can often run into trouble with European tax authorities.
In 2022, Netflix settled a tax dispute with the Italian government by paying US$59.1 million. Italian prosecutors had opened a tax evasion investigation three years prior, claiming that the streamer should have paid taxes in Italy as it relied on its infrastructure to access millions of users in the country. In May of that year, Netflix opened an office in Rome.
