Netflix’s Paris and Amsterdam headquarters searched

PARIS — French and Dutch authorities carried out searches today at Netflix’s headquarters in Paris and Amsterdam, a French judicial source told POLITICO.

The raids were part of a preliminary investigation, opened in November 2022, into charges of “aggravated tax fraud laundering” and “concealed work in an organized gang,” the source said.

The Paris search was carried out by the national agency dealing with corruption and tax offenses (OCLCIFF), accompanied by members of the national prosecutor’s office, as revealed by Marianne.

At the same time, Dutch magistrates searched Netflix’s headquarters in Amsterdam, in the presence of French magistrates and investigators, according to the same judicial source. The operations were coordinated through the European Union’s judicial cooperation unit, Eurojust.

According to information published by La Lettre in 2023, Netflix landed in French magistrates’ crosshairs because of a tax-optimization practice: declaring its sales in France in the Netherlands. Bercy triggered a tax audit covering the period from 2019-21.

This article was first published by POLITICO in French and was edited in English by Kelsey L. Hayes.