Samir Nasri held in custody in organized money-laundering investigation

Samir Nasri was taken into custody on Thursday, July 9 at the offices of the Financial Investigation and Research Brigade (BRIF) of the Paris judicial police, according to Le Parisien. The former France midfielder was questioned for around ten hours before being released. No legal proceedings have been initiated at this stage, although a summons for formal charges remains possible.

The judicial inquiry concerns facts related to the importation of narcotics, criminal association, and organized money-laundering. At the heart of the case are Karim Berrebouh, a Marseille drug trafficker imprisoned since 2021, and Olivier Sabbah, presented as one of the main players in the network laundering proceeds from this trafficking.

Nasri is implicated in the money-laundering aspect due to his past involvement with XS, a nightclub in Ivry-sur-Seine (Val-de-Marne) of which he became a shareholder from 2016 onwards. According to investigation findings, the wife of Karim Berrebouh reportedly visited this establishment several times to collect substantial sums of cash intended to finance her lifestyle during her husband’s incarceration. This Paris hearing followed an initial custody period conducted in Marseille in late June.

Parallel to this criminal procedure, Nasri is subject to a tax audit. Officially resident in Dubai, where taxation is particularly favorable, the former Olympique Marseille player is suspected by French tax authorities of actually residing in Paris. An investigation published in April by Les Échos noted in particular that nearly 200 orders placed on Deliveroo may have contributed to supporting this suspicion.