BERLIN (Reuters) – Investigators carried out searches at Adidas’s headquarters for a second consecutive day, the Financial Times reported, the latest stage in a years-long probe of what Handelsblatt newspaper reported was 1.1 billion euros of tax damage.
The company declined to confirm that authorities had returned for further searches on Wednesday and repeated its statement from Tuesday, in which it confirmed it was cooperating with authorities.
The investigation covers the period from October 2019 to August 2024 and is related to compliance with customs and tax regulations regarding the import of products into Germany, the company said in that statement, adding that it was cooperating with authorities and did not expect a significant financial impact.
The European prosecutor’s office EPPO said in a statement on its website earlier on Wednesday that it had carried out evidence-collecting activities in Germany and Austria.
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“It is suspected that a corporate group trading in sportswear was involved in the evasion of import duties to the detriment of the EU budget,” EPPO said in the statement. “No further information can be made public at this stage of the investigation.”
The Financial Times reported that searches had also been conducted at several other business locations and employees’ private residences, citing people familiar with the matter.
(Reporting by Thomas Escritt. Editing by Jane Merriman)
