French and Dutch investigative authorities conducted raids on Netflix offices in Paris and Amsterdam on the 5th (local time) as part of an investigation into tax evasion suspicions.
According to Euronews and others, the raids were part of a preliminary investigation that began in November 2022 on charges of money laundering, serious tax fraud, and failure to report.
The French National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) explained, "Searches were conducted at various locations, including Netflix offices in France." The Dutch prosecution also confirmed the raids, stating it was "in response to a legal assistance request from France." Sources reported that the cooperative measures between the two countries' authorities were coordinated through Eurojust, the European Union's agency for criminal justice cooperation.
Earlier, in August last year, the French media outlet La Lettre reported that Netflix's French subsidiary, Netflix Services France SAS, had been under tax investigation since 2022 for company practices from 2019 to 2021. According to the report, Netflix minimized its tax burden in France by having French subscribers sign up through its Dutch subsidiary. In response to the tax evasion suspicions, Netflix stated that it complies with tax laws in all countries where it operates its business.
France is one of Netflix's largest European markets, with subscribers surpassing 10 million as of two years ago.
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