Louis Vuitton's Dutch branch has agreed to pay €500,000 ($595,000) to settle a money laundering investigation, Dutch prosecutors announced on Thursday.
The settlement relates to claims that the luxury goods retailer failed to comply with the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Prevention) Act. Prosecutors said the company did not properly identify customers who repeatedly spent large sums of cash.
The case stems from a 36-year-old woman who allegedly used different names to spend more than €2 million in criminal proceeds on luxury items, including at Louis Vuitton, between August 2021 and February 2023. She is suspected of buying handbags and sending them to China for resale to disguise the funds' origin.
A former sales assistant at Louis Vuitton in the Netherlands is also under investigation, accused of tipping off the woman about new stock and warning her when spending limits that would trigger reporting requirements were approached.
Prosecutors said the out-of-court settlement was reached to free up courtroom space at the Rotterdam District Court. Louis Vuitton's Paris headquarters did not immediately comment.
