Netflix’s offices in Paris and Amsterdam subject to investigation by tax fraud authorities.

The recent raid carried out by French authorities, as reported by a judicial official in France, is part of an ongoing preliminary investigation into allegations of tax fraud and money laundering. A similar investigative search was conducted November 5th at Netflix’s EMEA headquarters in Amsterdam — where the European, Middle Eastern, and African headquarters of the US company are situated — . Dutch prosecutors, and specifically Emma Bosma, a representative for the National Office for Serious Fraud, Environmental Crime and Asset Confiscation, officially confirmed the searces “in the context of a French legal assistance request”.

The investigation commenced in November 2022 on charges of “aggravated tax fraud and concealed work in an organized gang.” It was initiated by the Parquet National Financier (PNF), a financial crime prosecution unit recognized for its rigorous standards of investigation. Its activities primarily focus on high-profile probes involving multinational corporations potentially implicated in white-collar crime.

According to a report from the AFP, the ongoing investigation pertains to suspicions of “covering up serious tax fraud and off-the-books work”. Therefore, authorities’ main focus is to ascertain whether Netflix has engaged in unlawful practices aimed at reducing its reported profits, which would subsequently result in a reduction of its tax obligations.

A spokesperson for Netflix issued the following formal statement: “We are co-operating with the authorities in France, where Netflix is a significant contributor to the local economy — and we comply with the tax laws and regulations in all the countries in which we operate”

CC: Flavia Gabrielli