Shipbroker Barry Rogliano Salles (BRS) has confirmed it is being investigated by the French authorities on its tax affairs.
In a statement provided to TradeWinds, days after it had been circulated to French media in response to a TradeWinds article last week, a spokesman for the company said: “On Thursday 17th March 2022 the French office of BRS group was subject to an enquiry from the French tax administration.
“The group, which is headquartered in Luxembourg since 2008, fully assisted the French tax administration and remains available for any further assistance.
“BRS group will not comment on the ongoing procedure.”
TradeWinds made extensive efforts to contact BRS and its officials on Thursday morning, after learning from several sources that investigators and police were in the company’s Paris office.
But nobody was available and no response was received until Monday.
Speaking to TradeWinds, the BRS spokesman played down the significance of the visit by the authorities.
He said it was “just about tax”, adding that it is common for police to accompany investigators on these office calls in France.
He named another large shipping company in the country that had had similar visits.
“It’s not a big problem,” he said.
The spokesman referenced that BRS’ headquarters are in Luxembourg.
He would not elaborate on the detail behind the tax probe, simply saying it was a common type of investigation in France to verify whether companies are paying the correct amount of tax.
The spokesman added that there was a similar investigation at the company 10 years ago.
He explained that in this type of case fiscal state investigators take files and copies of data, review this and see if it matches what a company has declared.
Such reviews can take three to six months, depending on the size of a company.
If those being investigated do not agree with the conclusion of the findings, they are able to challenge them in the courts of administration.
Business registry records show that the Luxembourg-registered holding company BRS International SA owns 100% of the French entity Barry Rogliano Salles SAS, which is the group’s commercial centre.
The name of the holding group’s beneficial owner is not publicly available. Instead, the names of BRS’ board members are filed with Luxembourg’s Registre des Beneficiaires Effectifs (register of beneficial owners).
However, documents retrieved from 2019 show the Luxembourg company was 100% beneficially owned at that time by BRS’ chairman, Tim Jones. He retired from the group in 2020.
BRS has 20 offices globally and employs around 500 people, 90 of whom are based in Paris.
The group, which holds financial investments in data management and chartering software provider AXSMarine, has traditionally focused on LNG and tankers but also handles freight derivatives, software, research and consulting.
