Belgian prosecutors close investigation into Bernard Arnault

Belgian prosecutors said on June, 22 they have closed an investigation into a 2.9 billion euro capital increase in a Belgian company owned by billionaire and chief executive of LVMH (LVMH.PA) Bernard Arnault.

According to the court report, prosecutors in charge of the case concluded that Arnault has accepted a deal to end the case opened in 2012 against Pilinvest, a holding company in Belgium, "without any prejudicial admission of guilt on his part."

The LVMH’s executive requested Belgian nationality in 2012 at a time his native France studied the introduction of a 75 percent ‘supertax’ for the country’s fortunes.

Although Arnault later withdrew the request and said his frustrated efforts to acquire Belgian nationality were motivated not by tax concerns but a desire to tie up legal ownership issues to avoid any future discrepancies among his heirs, prosecutors started this investigation into Arnault’s Belgian companies and assets.