According to information from Worldthe National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) has been carrying out a search since Tuesday morning, November 7, at the headquarters of SFR, Patrick Drahi’s French telecommunications operator, in the 15e district of Paris.
“This search is linked to a dispute with the tax administration over VAT rates [taxe sur la valeur ajoutée] applied to our TV offers between 2013 and 2019 »confirms Arthur Dreyfuss, chairman and CEO of Altice France, the parent company of SFR. “It takes place peacefully in a spirit of cooperation”he adds.
This search is therefore not linked to the alleged corruption affair which has shaken Mr. Drahi’s group since the arrest, on July 13, of his historic associate, Armando Pereira.
SFR was ordered in 2021 to pay a tax adjustment of 420 million euros, bringing the total amount claimed by the administration from the telecoms operator to 830 million euros. The tax authorities accuse Mr. Drahi’s group of having fraudulently used VAT on the press for several years, reduced to 2.1% instead of 20%. SFR, for its part, contested this adjustment.