What Is The ₹2.62 Crore Blackmail Case Involving Bernard Arnault, LVMH's CEO?

(MENAFN- Live Mint) LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault will testify in a Paris courtroom this week in a high-profile blackmail case involving allegations that he was targeted over a purported extramarital affair. The court seeks to determine whether Arnault, one of the world's richest men, was truly“completely unaware” of the scheme, as he has claimed, as per a Bloomberg report.

The extortion plot allegedly involved a former bodyguard and a paparazzo who demanded €300,000 (around ₹2.62 crore) in exchange for photos of Arnault with a woman who was not his wife. Arnault's testimony on Thursday will mark his first public appearance in a criminal court, the report added.

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The trial, which began earlier this month, comes at a sensitive time for Arnault and his family-controlled luxury empire, LVMH. The company, which owns brands like Louis Vuitton and Moët & Chandon, faces slowing global demand for luxury goods, succession questions, and the possibility of new US tariffs under President-elect Donald Trump , as per the report.

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In late 2008, after the blackmail threat emerged, Pierre Godé-a key figure in LVMH's expansion and a close confidant of Arnault-contacted France's domestic intelligence chief, Bernard Squarcini, for assistance, the Bloomberg report added. Godé passed away in 2018.

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Squarcini, who later became a private contractor for LVMH, is now on trial for allegedly misusing public resources to benefit Arnault. Both he and LVMH deny any wrongdoing. Charles Pellegrini, a former police chief who also worked with LVMH, is similarly accused but denies any misconduct, as per the report.

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Squarcini faces 11 charges, including influence peddling, accessing confidential information, and unlawful surveillance of activist-turned-politician François Ruffin, who made a documentary critical of Arnault.

The trial involves eight other defendants, primarily over allegations of spying on Ruffin. Court hearings will continue until Friday, with a verdict expected in the coming months.

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