Police searched the offices of French dairy company Lactalis on Tuesday, as part of an investigation into alleged tax fraud.
According to Le Monde, the French National Prosecutor’s Office is looking into whether Lactalis evaded French taxes by transferring profits to its subsidiaries in Belgium and Luxembourg.
The publication reported that the search operations were carried out by police officers from the French National Fiscal Offenses Repression Brigade (BNRDF) in at least three separate locations, including at the dairy giant’s headquarters in the town of Laval.
The amount of taxes involved over the period between 2009 and 2020 is estimated at several hundred million euros.
Euronews has contacted Lactalis for comment.
Lactalis, which is a privately held firm, is the world’s largest producer of cheese and one of the world’s largest dairy groups.
The company was founded in 1933 has expanded steadily over generations. Its takeover of Italy’s Parmalat in 2011 turned it into a major global player.