French actor Gérard De Pardieu is investigating allegedly forged residences in Belgium since 2012 to avoid collecting French taxes for the rich.
According to the French judiciary, tax investigators from both countries conducted a search in France and Belgium on February 11.
Depardieu, 76, moved his residence to Néchin near the French border in the Belgian town to controversy over the overheard taxes he thought the wealthy were.
The city of Belgium quickly made the actors honorary citizens.
“The tax authorities have been working hard to prove the fraud,” DePardieu’s lawyer Jérémie Assous told the DPA.
“As this has not been successful yet, they are now trying to go through criminal litigation.”
He added: “Some people would love to call these legal methods worn out, but they are legal and universal.”
Depardieu is also dealing with other legal cases.
He will appear in court on suspicion of sexual assault at the end of March. Two women accused him of groping his breasts and hips during the 2021 filming.
Depardieu famously starred in Cyrano de Bergerac, who denied the allegations.
