French authorities search 5 banks in Paris in tax fraud case

PARIS (AP) — The French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office says authorities have raided the Paris offices of five banks on suspicion of tax fraud. The raids come as part of five preliminary investigations opened in December 2021 on counts of alleged money laundering, and alleged tax fraud linked to dividend payments, the office said in a statement. Tuesday’s statement didn’t specify which banks were raided. French media said the banks searched included HSBC, BNP Paribas, Exane — a subsidiary of BNP — Societe Generale, and Natixis.