Netflix offices in France and the Netherlands searched in a tax probe

An investigation for potential tax fraud allegations.
US prosecutors allege filmmaker Carl Erik Rinsch misused Netflix’s funds on high-risk investments, spending millions on luxury cars, antiques, and crypto.

Investigators in France and the Netherlands have conducted searches at Netflix offices as part of a tax fraud probe led by France’s Parquet National Financier (PNF), a unit specialising in financial crime investigations. This inquiry, opened in November 2022, seeks to clarify Netflix’s reported revenues and tax payments within the country, following questions over whether the streaming giant routed income through the Netherlands to reduce its French tax obligations.

The Paris office was searched Tuesday morning, and simultaneous searches took place at Netflix’s European headquarters in Amsterdam. The PNF and Dutch financial crime authorities have coordinated for months on the probe, although a preliminary investigation does not necessarily imply criminal charges.

The probe follows scrutiny from French tax authorities over Netflix’s financial filings; the company reported under €1 million in French taxes between 2019 and 2020 while showing significantly higher revenues beginning in 2021. Netflix, which settled a similar tax issue in Italy in 2022, has stated it complies with tax regulations in all operating regions and cooperates with authorities.