Overview
- Nicolas Puech has a Paris civil suit seeking about €14 billion over roughly six million missing Hermès shares, naming Bernard Arnault, LVMH and the late wealth manager Eric Freymond.
- Puech alleges Freymond transferred or sold his bearer shares without consent when LVMH was building exposure to Hermès, a structure that makes tracing ownership difficult.
- LVMH publicly denied any misappropriation or existence of “hidden” Hermès shares and warned it may take legal action to defend its position.
- A French criminal investigation into the disappearance of the shares remains open, and Puech has asked to pause the civil case while police work continues; Reuters says only Freymond was under investigation before his death in July.
- Le Canard Enchaîné reported, as relayed by Le Monde, that Freymond told judges he sold 4.8 million Hermès shares to LVMH in 2008, a claim that adds to scrutiny of events preceding LVMH’s 2010 stake and the 2014 unwind.