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Gérard Depardieu under indictment: tax fraud and new allegations of sexual assault

French actor at the centre of legal investigation

Gérard Depardieu, the famous French actor, is again at the centre of serious legal charges. Since February 2024, he has been under investigation for aggravated tax fraud and money laundering. Authorities suspect that Depardieu falsely declared his residence in Belgium from 2013, with the intention of evading the French tax authorities. Sources close to the Parisian judiciary, quoted by AFP news agency, confirmed what was reported in a Mediapart investigation, stressing that searches and hearings related to the case took place between Paris, Maine-et-Loire and Belgium.

The rape case and the impending Court of Appeal ruling

Parallel to these financial investigations, Depardieu has been involved for years in a trial for alleged rape and sexual assault against actress Charlotte Arnould, which dates back to August 2018. At the time of the events, Arnould was 19 years old and the actor 69. The Paris Court of Appeal will rule on 6 March on the claims made by the actor, who disputes some key elements of the investigation. The public prosecutor has already requested an indictment, but Depardieu has always firmly denied the accusations.

New accusations emerge: an increasingly complex picture

It is not only Arnould who is pointing the finger at Depardieu. During the shooting of the film Big House in 2014, directed by Jean-Emmanuel Godart, the actor allegedly made an inappropriate gesture towards the actress, as she told Mediapart: ‘Without warning, Gérard Depardieu put his hand under my dress. This episode adds to a list of accusations made by other women over the years, painting an increasingly complex picture around the actor.

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