French law enforcement raid five banks in tax fraud case

French law enforcement raided five banks as a part of ongoing investigations into massive tax fraud and money laundering cases, the Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) announced on Tuesday.

About 150 investigators from the Ministry of Economics and Finance, 16 French investigating judges and six German prosecutors have conducted searches in Paris for the case of aggravated tax evasion that cost the government €100 billion, PNF stated.

The banks being investigated are Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, Exane, Natixis and HSBS.

The raids were being planned since the investigations opened in December 2021, and required several months of preparations.