Netflix’s European operations are under investigation for tax fraud.
Authorities in France and the Netherlands have conducted simultaneous raids on the company’s offices in Paris and Amsterdam as part of a joint investigation into suspected tax fraud and financial irregularities. The raids were carried out by specialized units focused on tackling fraud, money laundering, and white-collar crime.
The probe, first initiated in November 2022, has seen close cooperation between the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) and Dutch prosecutors. The investigation is centered on suspected tax fraud and “off-the-books” work, with French sources suggesting Netflix may have used such strategies to minimize reported profits in France, potentially evading taxes. Investigators are particularly interested in tax filings from 2019 through to 2021 and examining if profit minimization tactics continued after that period.
For years, Netflix reportedly declared French revenue in the Netherlands, where it holds its European, Middle Eastern, and African headquarters. This arrangement allegedly kept the entertainment giant’s declared turnover in France lower until 2021, when reported French revenue soared from €47.1 million in 2020 to €1.2 billion the following year, according to reports by French media.
“We are cooperating with the authorities in France, where Netflix is a significant contributor to the local economy—and we comply with the tax laws and regulations in all the countries in which we operate,” a Netflix spokesperson wrote in a statement.
