Fraud probe: Court upholds €461m seizure from Briton after Paris property deal
The sum relates to suspected tax evasion over a number of years by the businessman thought to live between California and Crans Montana in Switzerland
The French tax authorities seized €461m from Adrien Labi following the billion euro sale of two buildings on Avenue Montaigne in Paris (photo for illustration purposes only)
Pascale Gueret/Shutterstock
A British real estate mogul has lost his appeal against the seizure of €461m by the French tax authorities in relation to charges of tax evasion over the past decade.
The sum represents one third of all seizures taken by the French tax authorities in 2023.
The elusive businessman Adrien Labi has a vast property portfolio that includes buildings in France, the UK, California and Switzerland.
In March 2023, the 71-year-old sold two of his buildings on Avenue Montaigne in Paris to the Kering group for some €1billion.
However, on concluding the deal at the notaire’s office, Mr Labi was arrested by officers of France’s national fiscal fraud office and placed in police custody on suspicion of tax evasion.
Read more: Explainer: Role of notaire in France and what to do if not happy
The French tax authorities had been scrutinising his property dealings over the past decade following an investigation by Le Monde's M magazine into the opaque nature of his portfolio in 2015.
On the conclusion of his Paris property transaction, they brought charges against him for failure to pay income tax, wealth tax (ISF) and real estate wealth tax (IFI) in 2014 and 2015, as well as covering this up via tax fraud and money laundering between 2018 and 2022.
The tax authorities ordered the seizure of €461m to settle potential fines relating to these offences, which Mr Labi subsequently appealed.
On December 19, the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed the €461m seizure.
Mr Labi's lawyers have not said whether he would launch a further appeal to the French Supreme Court.
