September 27, 2024, by Jean-Baptiste Le Roux
Last July, Kiabi discovered financial fraud on an unprecedented scale, orchestrated by a former employee. With 100 million euros embezzled, this affair shook the French clothing brand.
A well-organized and large-scale fraud
Kiabi discovered a 100 million euro fraud. Unsplash
In July 2023, the French low-cost clothing brand, Kiabi, was the victim of financial fraud which quickly made headlines. This misappropriation of money was estimated at around 100 million euros, a colossal amount for the company. The fraud was discovered when Kiabi attempted to recoup an investment made the previous year. Upon approaching the bank for withdrawal, the company realized that the money had disappeared, probably diverted through a technique known as “bounce accounts”. This process allows money to pass through multiple accounts, making it extremely difficult to track.
Faced with this situation, Kiabi immediately reacted by launching an internal investigation and alerting the competent authorities. This fraud, although enormous, will not have a direct impact on the financial health of the company, according to a management press release. Kiabi stressed that the incident did not compromise its annual objectives and that legal actions were already underway to try to recover the embezzled sums.
A former employee at the heart of the affair
The former treasurer, who had moved to Florida where she worked in the luxury sector, was brought back to Paris. She was indicted for “organized gang fraud and money laundering”. The authorities suspect that this woman could not have acted alone, and other accomplices could be involved in this large-scale fraud. Since then, she has been placed in pre-trial detention, and the investigation continues to unravel the details of this exceptional embezzlement.
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