LVMH faces renewed scrutiny as French probe expands into Hermes stake-building scandal

28 May 2026 , 19:38

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French prosecutors announced on Thursday that Swiss lawyer Alexandre Montavon has been placed under formal investigation for his alleged involvement over a decade ago in the misappropriation of millions of Hermes shares for the benefit of LVMH (LVMH.PA), opens new tab.

Placing a suspect under formal investigation is a step in the French legal system indicating there is serious evidence against a suspect, but that does not imply guilt.

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The Paris public prosecutor’s office stated in a written statement emailed to Reuters that Montavon is suspected of having "participated in the misappropriation of Nicolas Puech’s Hermes shares for the benefit of LVMH".

The prosecutors mentioned, without providing further details, that they suspected Montavon was involved in the scheme through his role as a lawyer and administrator of an offshore company called Dilico.

Market watchdog AMF has previously stated that Dilico was used to transfer Hermes shares to banks associated with LVMH.

The procedural step demonstrates that Paris investigators are actively examining the circumstances under which LVMH built up its position in rival Hermes, a move LVMH first disclosed in 2010, sparking a years-long corporate feud between the two luxury giants.

Montavon said he could not comment but mentioned he had forwarded Reuters’ request to his attorney. LVMH declined to comment but referred to a December statement in which it said it had "never misappropriated shares in Hermes, in whatever way". A company named Dilico, listing Montavon as its administrator, was liquidated in 2020, according to Swiss corporate records.

Montavon was placed under formal investigation on charges of "complicity in breach of trust" on Wednesday, according to the Paris prosecutors.

Hermes heir Puech, 83, has sued Bernard Arnault and his LVMH group, among other parties, in a civil case claiming he was deprived of Hermes shares now valued at over €10 billion.

France’s market watchdog fined LVMH €8 million in 2013 for failing to properly disclose its stake-building in Hermes, which LVMH at the time called "baseless".

Arnault has consistently denied allegations of preparing a takeover of Hermes, one of the world’s most valuable luxury brands and a direct competitor to LVMH’s top brand Louis Vuitton.

Puech, once among Hermes’s largest individual shareholders, claimed in a rare interview with French magazine L’Express last year that he had unwittingly lost control of his massive stake.

In a criminal complaint filed in Paris in December 2023, Puech alleged breach of trust and misappropriation of his assets by his now-deceased former wealth manager Eric Freymond and possible associates.

Freymond, who managed Puech’s fortune for more than 20 years, died in July 2025 while under investigation. Swiss authorities have stated they were investigating a possible suicide.