While we hunker down and wait for one of the the longest days in American politics in at least a few months, here’s a perhaps pleasantly distracting reminder that on the other side of the world, things are almost business as usual. Well, what’s happening in Netflix’s European offices is not the case. Exactly your average Tuesday morning, but it certainly beats what’s happening here. Why focus on cards and the return of all those Steve Kornacki is thirsty tweets when can you instead read about good old alleged corporate tax fraud?

Everyone says, “Thanks, Netflix!” » By Reutersthe company is giving us the diversion we need via a tax fraud laundering investigation at its Paris and Amsterdam headquarters this week. Authorities searched the two offices as part of an investigation opened in November 2022, the media reports. “Cooperation between the French and Dutch authorities has been underway for many months as part of this procedure,” said a French source, while neither the streamer nor the Dutch prosecutor’s office wished to comment.

The outlet reports that a preliminary investigation of this type in France does not involve criminal charges and does not necessarily lead to a trial. They also specify that “the facts which led to the investigation were not immediately clear”. French media The Letter (via Reuters) however reported last year that the streamer’s French subsidiary had come under scrutiny from tax authorities due to potential understated revenue, which seemed at odds with the actual number of paying users in the country. According to the French media outlet, the company’s local brand paid less than 1 million euros in corporate taxes between 2019 and 2020 involving a separate unit registered in the Netherlands. When they ended this practice in 2021, the French company’s turnover reached 1.2 billion euros, an exponential increase from 47 million euros the previous year.

Those are all the details we have for now, but if you really want to dive into this story so you don’t have to watch, uh, other things, Netflix ironically has a pretty good library of shows about taxes on a large scale. fraud you can focus on. Docuseries Dirty money comes to mind, just like Scam Lords And The laundromat.