PARIS — France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) on Wednesday opened an investigation into consulting firms that have worked for the French government, on suspicion of money laundering and tax fraud.
The PNF, which is responsible for scrutinizing serious economic and financial crime, said in an official statement that it opened the probe following claims in a French Senate report about the influence of consultancies, which revealed that consulting giant McKinsey used a tax optimization scheme while working for President Emmanuel Macron’s administration.
The news sparked national outrage, spawned the viral “#McKinseyGate” hashtag, and forced Macron and several ministers to answer questions over the controversy, just days before the first round of the country’s presidential election.
The senators also filed a complaint to the prosecutor’s office for perjury, as they accuse McKinsey of lying about its tax situation during parliamentary hearings.
Despite landing lucrative deals with the French government over the years, McKinsey “has not paid corporate tax in France for at least 10 years,” said Senator Éliane Assassi, who heads the Communist group. “One of [McKinsey’s] directors said under oath … that McKinsey paid taxes in France, so we checked by [requesting data] from the finance ministry. The finding is clear.” McKinsey has denied the accusation.
Ministries’ consulting expenses have more than doubled since the beginning of Macron’s tenure as president, with a sharp increase in 2021 (up 45 percent on the previous year) due to the pandemic, according to the report from the inquiry committee, which was made up of a group of senators and led by the opposition.
While McKinsey is not the only consulting firm working for the French government, and accounts for just 1 percent of its consultancy spending, the American company has become a symbol for Macron’s opponents as it was involved in many major reforms such as France’s coronavirus vaccination campaign and many of its consultants were involved in Macron’s campaign in 2017.
In response on Wednesday, a French government spokesperson said during a press conference, “we have been calling for the full truth to be told about the practices of this consulting firm from the start … This consulting firm will pay what it must pay.”
In an earlier attempt to defend Macron, Budget Minister Olivier Dussopt said last week that the services of his ministry “have initiated an audit of McKinsey’s tax situation at the end of 2021” and that the debate about the use of consultancies had become the object of “political exploitation” and “crude manipulation.”
In its defense, McKinsey first claimed to have paid “€422 million in taxes and social security contributions,” confusing corporate income tax with social security contributions paid on its employees’ salaries.
A week later, McKinsey said that one of its subsidiaries had indeed paid its corporate tax for six years but did not provide POLITICO with answers regarding the company’s name, the amount or the period mentioned — and thus didn’t allow for independent verification of the claims.
English (US) ·