French police seize 10 Chinese-owned vineyards in Bordeaux
French financial police have seized 10 wineries in the Bordeaux area which are owned by Chinese conglomerate Haichang over suspicions of tax fraud, a police source told AFP on Friday.
Haichang Group, based in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian, is the biggest of numerous Chinese investors which have bought into one of France's most famous wine-growing regions in recent years.
It owns 24 estates, including Chateau Chenu-Lafitte, but the group's purchases have been under investigation by financial prosecutors for several years.
"For 10 chateaux, we discovered a certain number of tax crimes: laundering of the proceeds of tax fraud, forgery, use of forgery, etc," a police source told AFP, confirming a report by France 2 television.
READ ALSO:
-
Pilfered Chinese money paid for French vineyards
-
140 vineyards and counting: Asian investors are big in Bordeaux
"In the second quarter of the year, we seized those that were acquired fraudulently," the source said.
Investigators began looking into Haichang after reports in the French press that the group had been named in a report by a Chinese state auditor in 2014.
China's National Audit Office (NAO) said in its annual report that Haichang had been granted public money by state authorities to buy foreign technology, but had instead purchased vineyards in France.
Controlled by 56-year-old businessman Naije Qu, Haichang is a trading and shipping company which also has interests in property, tourism and agriculture.
In 2013, Paris's money laundering investigators Tracfin had raised the alarm about Chinese investments in the French wine industry and called for "increased vigilance."
Comments (1)
See Also
Haichang Group, based in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian, is the biggest of numerous Chinese investors which have bought into one of France's most famous wine-growing regions in recent years.
It owns 24 estates, including Chateau Chenu-Lafitte, but the group's purchases have been under investigation by financial prosecutors for several years.
"For 10 chateaux, we discovered a certain number of tax crimes: laundering of the proceeds of tax fraud, forgery, use of forgery, etc," a police source told AFP, confirming a report by France 2 television.
READ ALSO:
- Pilfered Chinese money paid for French vineyards
- 140 vineyards and counting: Asian investors are big in Bordeaux
"In the second quarter of the year, we seized those that were acquired fraudulently," the source said.
Investigators began looking into Haichang after reports in the French press that the group had been named in a report by a Chinese state auditor in 2014.
China's National Audit Office (NAO) said in its annual report that Haichang had been granted public money by state authorities to buy foreign technology, but had instead purchased vineyards in France.
Controlled by 56-year-old businessman Naije Qu, Haichang is a trading and shipping company which also has interests in property, tourism and agriculture.
In 2013, Paris's money laundering investigators Tracfin had raised the alarm about Chinese investments in the French wine industry and called for "increased vigilance."
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.