Google's Paris offices were raided today by French prosecutors and police amid an inquiry into alleged tax fraud.
The raids are part of preliminary investigation opened in June 2015 to look into suspected “aggravated fiscal fraud” after French tax authorities lodged a complaint, according to France’s financial prosecutor on Tuesday.
The raids started at about 5am local time, it was reported by local media earlier, citing an unidentified source.
The raids come as Google, which is part of parent company Alphabet, faces outrage in Europe over the small amount of tax it pays in the region. France has called on the company to pay back taxes of about €1.6 billion (Dh6.56bn).
This year Google reached a controversial £130 million (Dh697.6m) settlement with the UK government over an audit covering 10 years of accounts. Critics called the amount “derisory”.
The French investigation will aim to verify whether Google’s Irish unit has a permanent establishment in France and whether the firm failed to declare part of its revenues in France, according to the office of the financial prosecutor.
Google representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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