General Electric unions file a complaint for laundering tax evasion

Did the American group General Electric, owner of the former Alstom site in Belfort (Territoire de Belfort), defraud the tax authorities? This is the conviction of the unions, and of their lawyer Eva Joly. They announced, Tuesday, May 31, the filing of a complaint before the national financial prosecutor’s office, in particular for laundering tax fraud. “This is an exceptional moment, because complaints for laundering of tax evasion, breach of trust, forgery and use of forgery and concealment against multinationals are rare”says Eva Joly.

According to the plaintiffs, the General Electric group would have transferred through fraudulent tax arrangements more than 500 million euros to Switzerland and the American state of Delaware, where taxation is more advantageous. In France, with no declared income, she has no tax to pay. “We worked for four years, we teamed up with experts, lawyers. We are very confident that we will win”, comments Philippe Petitcolin, from the CFE CGC union. For its part, General Electric indicates that its inter-company transactions “comply with all applicable international and national rules and regulations”.