The actor Gérard Depardieu is the target of an investigation into aggravated tax evasion and money laundering, as he is suspected of having falsely declared a tax residence in Belgium since 2013, the Agence France-Presse reported today, citing sources close to the case.

Investigations were carried out and statements were taken in mid-February in Belgium and France, notably in Men e Loire, where Gerard Depardieu owns a tower. However, the actor has not stated to the authorities for the time being.

The investigation “follows a series of complaints from the tax administration,” one of the sources added to AFP, confirming a tip-off from the investigative medium Mediapart. The investigation aims to determine whether “his headquarters was a false headquarters” and “what amount of tax could have been lost in France since 2013.”

The actor, aged 76, had announced in December 2012 that he was based in Belgium for tax purposes. He wanted to protest against the tax on large estates that France’s president at the time, Francois Hollande, wanted to impose.

At the time, he had settled in Nessin, a Belgian suburb near the border with France, which was well known because wealthy French expatriates lived there. This move sparked a fierce controversy. The target of criticism, especially from political officials, with his departure being described as “quite deplorable” by the prime minister at the time, Jean-Marc Airaud, he had threatened to hand over his French passport.

He received Russian citizenship thanks to President Vladimir Putin after a short time, in January 2013.

In addition, the famous actor is due to stand trial in March in Paris for sexual assaults against two women during the filming of Jean Becaire’s 2021 film Les Volets Verts. Prosecutors have additionally backed a trial against him for raping actress Charlotte Arnoul in 2018, charges he denies.