Fraudulent activities at one of Essilor Luxottica’s laboratories in Thailand is estimated to have cost the company approximately around €190 million.
the fraud was organised by Essilor’s local management via cash payments to fictitious suppliers
According to reports, the fraud was organised by Essilor’s local management via cash payments to fictitious suppliers. Employees known to be associated with the fraudulent activities have had their employment terminated and additional internal controls have been put in place at Essilor International worldwide to strengthen existing security processes.
Essilor International, which discovered the fraudulent activities that were made public on 31 December 2019, filed complaints in Thailand and in other jurisdictions. According to the company, it has mobilised all available internal and external resources to put an immediate end to the fraudulent activities and implement remedial actions. It is also carrying out comprehensive investigations and is taking all possible actions to seek to recover the misappropriated funds in order to mitigate the impact on the Group.
The financial impact is estimated to be of a maximum of €190 million before insurance, pending legal actions and anticipated recovery of further funds currently frozen on various bank accounts. It will be recorded in the operating result of 2019 and will be treated as an adjusted item.
