Hermès/LVMH shares case: two Swiss lawyers and a notary under investigation in Paris

Two Swiss lawyers and a notary are under investigation in Paris regarding the Hermès shares case. An heir of the French leather goods house claims to have been dispossessed of the shares in favour of LVMH. AFP learned this on Friday from the Paris public prosecutor's office, confirming a report from the daily newspaper Libération.

Nicolas Puech, an 83-year-old Swiss resident, accuses his former wealth manager, Eric Freymond, of dispossessing him of his shares for the benefit of LVMH and billionaire Bernard Arnault.

He filed a civil complaint in December 2023 for breach of trust. The prosecutor's office stated that he suspects the manager of “having misappropriated assets he managed since 1998 through Swiss-registered companies he administered. He is also suspected of selling his shares without his consent and without informing him”.

A judicial investigation against persons unknown was opened on November 19, 2015. According to the prosecutor's office, this followed a complaint filed the previous month by Hermès International for forgery and use of forged documents, of which Freymond was suspected.

Freymond, already prosecuted for forgery in December 2019, was also placed under investigation on July 9, 2025. The investigation was for aggravated breach of trust between 1998 and 2023, as well as forgery and use of forged documents in France and Switzerland in 2024 and 2025. He was then placed under judicial supervision with the obligation to provide a bail of five million euros.

The prosecutor's office indicated that the 67-year-old wealth manager “took his own life” shortly after, on July 21, 2025. The public prosecution against him has therefore been dropped. Several of his alleged accomplices have been placed under investigation in the last two months.

On April 9, Swiss lawyer Vanjia Megevand was placed under investigation for attempted organised fraud in 2025 against Puech. On May 18, Swiss lawyer François Besse was also placed under investigation. The charges include complicity in aggravated breach of trust; concealment of breach of trust; forgery in 2024 and 2025; attempted organised fraud in 2024-2025; and a forged loan agreement.

Alexandre Montavon, a Swiss lawyer who administers the company Dilico, was also placed under investigation on May 27. He is suspected of complicity in aggravated breach of trust from 2001 to 2014. He is also suspected of participating in the misappropriation of Puech's Hermès shares for the benefit of LVMH and of concealment of breach of trust.

“The individuals under investigation dispute the facts of which they are suspected,” the prosecutor's office emphasised, adding that the investigations are ongoing.

In December, LVMH and its shareholder forcefully reaffirmed that they had “at no time misappropriated shares of the company Hermès International”.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

OR CONTINUE WITH

controversy

Hermès

LVMH