A report from the Paris-based financial investigations body (BF) has confirmed falsification of the accounts by perfume group Marionnaud before 2005.
Last July, Marcel Frydman, the former president of the group, was fined some €1m by the financial market regulator, the AMF. The subsequent inquiry by the BF has reported that M Frydman was disturbed by the fall in share price on the Paris Bourse in 2002 and undertook a process intended to improve the margins retrospectively for the 2002 and 2003 accounts. The "correction" undertaken amounted to €54.9m. The report also found that falsification of accounts had been undertaken by the company's former finance officer in order to "make the accounts match the demands" of Frydman.
Meanwhile, Frydman still faces a Paris court hearing on 26 and 27 May, accused of "publishing false information", "deception" and a related charge. The company was taken over by the AS Watson group based in China in early 2005.