French authorities search SocGen's offices in fiscal fraud probe, Le Monde reports

PARIS (Reuters) -Investigators from the French national financial prosecutor's office (PNF) have searched the offices of French bank Societe Generale in La Defense, near Paris, and in Luxembourg as part of a tax fraud investigation, Le Monde newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The homes of five people, mostly bank executives, were also searched, and four people were taken into custody, Le Monde reported, citing sources close to the case.

Societe Generale declined to comment on the report, while the PNF did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment.

The raids are part of a preliminary investigation led by the PNF, opened in January 2024, for "tax fraud laundering", "organized or aggravated tax fraud laundering" and "criminal conspiracy", according to the sources, Le Monde said.

Authorities are investigating the conditions under which a department of the bank was able to "propose and carry out set-ups for essentially tax purposes for the benefit of major French companies," the newspaper reported, citing a judicial source.

"The actions are likely to have been committed since 2009 in France and abroad, notably in Luxembourg."

In March 2023, French authorities searched the Paris offices of five banks, including Societe Generale, on suspicion of fiscal fraud, part of a broad European investigation into the dodging of dividend tax payments.

The PNF said at the time that the probe was linked to so-called "cum-ex" dividend stripping, a trading scheme whereby banks and investors swiftly trade shares of companies around their dividend payout day.

The practice aims to blur stock ownership and allow multiple parties to illegally claim tax rebates on dividends.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon and Makini Brice; Editing by Jan Harvey)