What is the ₹2.62 crore blackmail case involving Bernard Arnault, LVMH’s CEO?

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault will testify in a Paris courtroom this week in a high-profile blackmail case involving allegations that he was targeted over a purported extramarital affair. The court seeks to determine whether Arnault, one of the world’s richest men, was truly “completely unaware” of the scheme, as he has claimed, as per a Bloomberg report.

The extortion plot allegedly involved a former bodyguard and a paparazzo who demanded €300,000 (around ₹2.62 crore) in exchange for photos of Arnault with a woman who was not his wife. Arnault’s testimony on Thursday will mark his first public appearance in a criminal court, the report added.

The trial, which began earlier this month, comes at a sensitive time for Arnault and his family-controlled luxury empire, LVMH. The company, which owns brands like Louis Vuitton and Moët & Chandon, faces slowing global demand for luxury goods, succession questions, and the possibility of new US tariffs under President-elect Donald Trump, as per the report.

In late 2008, after the blackmail threat emerged, Pierre Godé—a key figure in LVMH’s expansion and a close confidant of Arnault—contacted France’s domestic intelligence chief, Bernard Squarcini, for assistance, the Bloomberg report added. Godé passed away in 2018.

Squarcini on trial

Squarcini, who later became a private contractor for LVMH, is now on trial for allegedly misusing public resources to benefit Arnault. Both he and LVMH deny any wrongdoing. Charles Pellegrini, a former police chief who also worked with LVMH, is similarly accused but denies any misconduct, as per the report.

Squarcini faces 11 charges, including influence peddling, accessing confidential information, and unlawful surveillance of activist-turned-politician François Ruffin, who made a documentary critical of Arnault.

The trial involves eight other defendants, primarily over allegations of spying on Ruffin. Court hearings will continue until Friday, with a verdict expected in the coming months.