The French clothing chain Kiabi, which is also active in Belgium, has become the victim of “significant financial fraud”. This was announced by the company’s management. According to the French broadcaster Franceinfo, a former employee walked away with 100 million euros.
According to the company, the fraud does not cause Kiabi financial problems. The management will not confirm exactly how much money has disappeared. Kiabi had a turnover of approximately 2.2 billion euros in 2023.
According to Franceinfo, a 39-year-old former employee of the company embezzled 100 million euros last year, after which she moved to Miami in the United States. It wasn’t until a year later that the company discovered that money was missing.
Through her social media, investigators learned that the woman was in Europe this summer. First she was in Greece, then in Italy and finally she took a private jet to the French island of Corsica. The police were able to intercept her there, Franceinfo reports.
The woman had previously been convicted of extensive fraud at another company, but Kiabi would not have known about that. The woman managed the accounts at the clothing chain and was thus able to transfer large sums.