The essentials. French prosecutors have widened their investigation into an alleged fraud involving about €14 billion of Hermès shares, according to the Financial Times and Reuters. At its heart: heir Nicolas Puech, who says six million Hermès shares held in his name vanished. Everyone named is entitled to the presumption of innocence; no conviction has been handed down.
It is one of the most spectacular financial sagas of the moment, spanning luxury, Swiss wealth management and the French courts. Nothing here is presented as established fact: these are complaints, an ongoing investigation and denials.
Six million shares gone
Nicolas Puech, 82, a fifth-generation Hermès heir and long the group’s largest individual shareholder, is said to have discovered around 2022 that six million Hermès shares he believed were held in his name had disappeared. On the group’s current valuation, the stake is worth roughly €14 billion (about $16 billion).
“Massive fraud,” the heir alleges
Mr Puech accuses his longtime wealth manager, Eric Freymond, of “massive fraud,” and has filed complaints in both Switzerland and France. According to his lawyers, his shares were moved without his knowledge as LVMH built a stake in the maker of the Birkin bag more than a decade ago. Eric Freymond died in July, struck by a train in Switzerland; he was, at this stage, the only person under criminal investigation in France.
A civil claim targeting LVMH and Bernard Arnault
On the civil side, Nicolas Puech has also sued in Paris LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault, along with two of the group’s family offices (Agache and Financière Agache) and several Swiss entities linked to the late manager, claiming he was unlawfully stripped of his Hermès shares. These are allegations made in civil proceedings; they carry no finding of guilt.
LVMH’s denial. LVMH firmly disputes the claims, stating it has “never misappropriated the heir’s shares.” The presumption of innocence fully applies to all parties named.
Why it is in the public interest
A multibillion fortune vanishing from an heir’s accounts, a widening French criminal probe, a civil battle targeting one of the world’s richest men: the case raises questions about the traceability of great fortunes, the role of managers and family offices, and the robustness of controls. Reporting it — without distorting it or prejudging — is what the right to inform is for.
Sources and references
“French justice widens probe into alleged €14 billion Hermès shares fraud” (Financial Times / Reuters, via Zonebourse). Robb Report; Forbes; The Fashion Law; MarketScreener (LVMH denial). Facts reported conditionally; proceedings ongoing, presumption of innocence.
By Patrick Lancier
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