Streaming giant Netflix’s European offices were raided by tax investigators in France and the Netherlands this week. Dutch and French authorities have been cooperating on the probe for two years and targeted the raids for the same day. As French investigators were ripping apart the Netflix office in Paris, the Dutch were doing the same at the streamer’s EU headquarters in Amsterdam.
Reuters reported that the tax investigation against Netflix has been underway for two years. The special prosecution unit PNF oversaw the French side of the investigation. PNF is known for pursuing expensive white-collar crimes involving international corporations.
“Cooperation between the French and Dutch authorities has been underway for many months as part of these proceedings,” a spokesperson for PNF stated.
It’s not immediately clear what the PNF and the Dutch authorities were looking for. Under the legal system in France, this doesn’t necessarily even mean that Netflix will end up being charged with any crimes. The French are reportedly investigating the company for alleged tax violations in 2019, 2020, and 2021.
Netflix just suffered its worst financial year in more than a decade in 2022. The company lost more than 50% of its stock value and $136 billion in market value. It turns out that viewers really didn’t like Netflix’s absurdly “woke” original programming. You can only make movies and TV shows about black lesbian Vikings, Asian lesbian pirates, and Eskimo lesbian police so many times before viewers start to suspect you’re not really trying to entertain them.
Netflix has been operating in France for a decade now and says it has 10 million subscribers there. If France and the Netherlands do end up charging Netflix with tax crimes, it would signal even worse financial tidings for the beleaguered company.