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Dubai Papers: the business of hidden wealth goes on trial

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Illustration for the analysis: Dubai Papers: the business of hidden wealth goes on trial
FR French original 12 min read
Sources and reading context

Topics#Dubai Papers#Tax evasion#Justice#France#United Arab Emirates#Asia#Investigation

dated revision: November 10, 2026primary sourcesno tracker
// reading pathAsia in the global financial systemFollow the rates, currencies, credit and capital flows around this analysis.
Contents11 sections

Concealed wealth still has to remain usable by its owner. The Dubai Papers trial examines the services and intermediaries accused of organising that discretion. Invoices and records needed to operate the service can also leave evidence for investigators.

Documentary investigation checked through 10 November 2026. Individual responsibility in the ongoing trial remains for the court to determine. The numerical model below is entirely hypothetical.

The trial that opened in Paris on 2 November concerns alleged organisers and intermediaries of a tax-evasion operation around Helin. The Association de la presse judiciaire calendar lists hearings through 3 December. That is an expected end to the hearings. The court’s decision is a separate stage. S05 S06

The economic question extends beyond having a foreign account: retaining control, accessing money and coordinating relationships requires continuing work. An international company can conduct legitimate business. In the case being tried, the reality of services, tax reporting and each person’s knowledge of the transactions require examination. S03 S06 S10

Hidden wealth and unpaid tax tell different stories

In the French part of the case, prosecutors cite more than €200 million in concealed assets and at least €54 million in tax evaded over 2007–2018, according to AFP. S02

The figures cover different scopes and remain prosecution estimates. An asset figure describes wealth; unpaid tax concerns taxable bases and assessment periods. Comparing them requires definitions and the underlying cases. There is no immediate conversion into a meaningful average tax rate.

The same problem arises when estimating a service provider’s revenue. Assets under administration may generate recurring fees, transaction charges or several services. Revenue depends on agreements, charging bases and time. Assessing Helin’s profitability would require invoices and receipts, followed by reconciliation with expenses and payments to intermediaries.

Our analysis therefore examines the service’s functions. It explains how administering concealed assets could generate revenue and evidence, without applying a uniform fee to the wealth cited by prosecutors.

Separating names, control and access to money

Radio France’s 2019 investigation documents the functions illustrated below. S03 We obtained neither the original leak nor the bank records needed to verify individual transactions.

The tax questions differ. Existing wealth raises issues of ownership, income and reporting duties. An invoice entered into a business’s books introduces a new accounting entry, potentially affecting reported profit and creating a cash movement to reconstruct.

Three roles help explain the structure: the apparent holder, the person giving instructions and the person benefiting from spending. They may coincide or be separated. The name on a bank record describes a legal relationship; analysis of powers and transactions adds information. Know-your-customer checks and identification of controlling persons under relevant frameworks address that problem, under each system’s own rules. S11

The following diagram represents reported functions and alternative entry points. Its relationships are qualitative. It provides a framework for examining control; reconstructing a particular payment would require that transaction’s own records.

Two sources of funds, rights and access to connect Functions reported by Radio France in 2019. Two alternative entries: undeclared inherited wealth or business funds through disputed invoices. Administered entities separate legal title, instructions and economic use. Cash and card access is reported. Lines reconstruct no individual transaction, bank or universal route. FUNCTIONS OF THE REPORTED ARRANGEMENT Radio France · reporting of April 13, 2019 Existing wealth Undeclared inheritance Business Alleged fictitious or inflated invoicing Administered entities Title and instructions Beneficiary Alternative entries Cash or cards Legal title, control and use: three relationships to establish from evidence. Reported functions; no individual bank statement reconstructed.
Two sources of funds, rights and access to connect Functions reported by Radio France in 2019. Two alternative entries: undeclared inherited wealth or business funds through disputed invoices. Administered entities separate legal title, instructions and economic use. Cash and card access is reported. Lines reconstruct no individual transaction, bank or universal route. FUNDS, CONTROL AND USE Radio France · reporting of April 13, 2019 Existing wealth Reported undeclared inheritance Business Alleged fictitious or inflated invoices Alternative entries Administered entities Legal title and instructions Reported access Use by a beneficiary Cash or cards in the reported cases Title, control and use: links to establish from evidence. Explanatory diagram, no actual statement.
FIGURE 01Two sources of funds and relationships to establishFunctions reported by Radio France in April 2019: undeclared inherited wealth or business funds arising from disputed invoices, administration of entities and access to funds. The entries are alternatives. Lines are qualitative and reconstruct no individual banking route. Facts and individual responsibility in the trial remain for the court to determine. [S03][S10][S11]
Method and scope
Reconstruction of functions from original press reporting, not an exhaustive inventory, bank statement or authentication of a leak held by l0g. Radio France describes different customer profiles and varying arrangements; no person is assumed to have used every route. Legal title, instruction rights and private use require separate documentary links. Individual amounts, banks and accounts are not invented. OECD work on professional enablers and controlling persons adds a general framework without supplying individual proof. Remuneration reported in particular cases is not a universal tariff and is not extrapolated to assets.

An invoice can move more cash than the tax it avoids

Consider an entirely hypothetical business with €400,000 of taxable profit before the disputed entry. Assume a fictitious €100,000 invoice is both recorded and paid, then wrongly deducted. The artificially presented tax base falls to €300,000.

At a rate chosen for this illustration of 25%, tax calculated on the return falls from €100,000 to €75,000, a €25,000 difference. Yet €100,000 has left the business’s cash account. The payment and the tax difference measure separate things.

A fictitious expense is legally non-deductible. Adding it back here restores the original base. The model therefore depicts an artificially reduced return rather than a valid tax entitlement. The general rule for business deductions requires, among other conditions, a genuine expense supported by evidence and incurred for the business. S13

The model deliberately excludes VAT, intermediary fees, personal taxes, penalties and loss-relief effects. It reproduces no Helin case. The chosen rate makes the arithmetic readable; an actual historical transaction would require the rules applying to its year and each taxpayer.

Each side calls for different evidence. Bank records help establish payment. Contracts and work products clarify whether the claimed service existed. Accounting records and the tax return show its treatment. Identifying the final beneficiary requires further reconciliation beyond the invoice itself.

A fictitious expense: cash transferred and tax calculated Entirely hypothetical example, in euros. A 100000 euro fictitious expense is assumed booked and paid; the artificial declared base moves from 400000 to 300000. At the chosen 25% rate, calculated tax moves from 100000 to 75000, a 25000 difference. The fictitious expense is legally non-deductible. Adding it back restores the 400000 base and 100000 tax under these assumptions. The 100000 cash transfer is separate. VAT, fees, personal taxes, losses and penalties are excluded. FICTITIOUS EXPENSE: TWO DISTINCT EFFECTS Hypothetical example · euros · chosen rate 25% Fictitious expense assumed booked and paid: −€100,000 cash. Initial base Declared base Initial tax Calculated tax 400,000 300,000 + 100,000 100,000 75,000 Calculated difference: €25,000 Fictitious expense is non-deductible: tax add-back. Restored base: €400,000 Recalculated tax: €100,000
A fictitious expense: cash transferred and tax calculated Entirely hypothetical example, in euros. A 100000 euro fictitious expense is assumed booked and paid; the artificial declared base moves from 400000 to 300000. At the chosen 25% rate, calculated tax moves from 100000 to 75000, a 25000 difference. The fictitious expense is legally non-deductible. Adding it back restores the 400000 base and 100000 tax under these assumptions. The 100000 cash transfer is separate. VAT, fees, personal taxes, losses and penalties are excluded. FALSE EXPENSE AND TAX EFFECT Fictional example · euros ·25% rate Expense assumed booked and paid −€100,000 cash Initial base 400,000 Declared base 300,000 + 100,000 Tax calculated at the chosen 25% rate Before: 100,000 After the entry: 75,000 Difference: €25,000 Fictitious expense: non-deductible. Add-back: base €400,000 Recalculated tax: €100,000 Fictional amounts, one shared scale. Excludes VAT, fees, losses and other taxes.
FIGURE 02A fictitious expense, from cash transferred to calculated taxEntirely hypothetical example, in euros, over a fictional accounting period. A fictitious 100,000 expense is assumed booked and paid. The artificial declared base moves from 400,000 to 300,000; at the chosen 25% rate, calculated tax moves from 100,000 to 75,000. The 25,000 difference is distinct from 100,000 of cash transferred. The fictitious expense is legally non-deductible: adding it back restores the 400,000 base and 100,000 tax under these assumptions. [S13]
Method and scope
Reproducible calculation: 400,000 − 100,000 = 300,000; 400,000 × 25% = 100,000; 300,000 × 25% = 75,000; difference 25,000. Assumed cash actually paid is 100,000. The figure depicts an artificially declared base, rather than an allowable deduction: the fictitious expense must be added back, restoring 300,000 + 100,000 = 400,000 of taxable base and 100,000 tax at the chosen rate. Outlined segments show that add-back. Base and tax bars share one euro scale within each variant. No Helin figure is represented. The calculation excludes VAT, fees and commissions, personal taxes, penalties, interest, deficits and loss relief. The 25% rate is a fictional parameter, rather than a historical rate assigned to the whole 2007–2018 period. Service Public documents the general principle of genuine, substantiated expenses incurred for the business.

Intermediaries bring an existing relationship of trust

Le Monde identifies three lawyers and an accountant among the defendants. S07

A referral intermediary’s economic role begins with an existing relationship. A client may know their adviser while knowing very little about a foreign operator. A recommendation bridges that distance and makes the proposed service feel more familiar. This is an analysis of incentives, to be tested against each person’s actions and communications.

Compensation terms must be examined against the agreements for each relationship. No general fee schedule or consolidated Helin margin was obtained. S03

Assessing an intermediary’s interests would require the promised service, the source of compensation and the disclosures made to the client. A payment can compensate an introduction, continuing administration or help with transactions. Its legal treatment also depends on the recipient’s knowledge of the facts.

The OECD examines professionals who knowingly enable financial crimes, distinguishing that conduct from legitimate professional work. This framework helps explain the supply of services around fraud. Criminal responsibility in the Paris case depends on evidence and the rules applicable to each defendant. S10

External secrecy creates a need for internal precision

The owner of assets wants to retain their rights and have instructions carried out. An operator serving multiple clients has to distinguish balances, mandates and transactions to function. This economic constraint explains the potential importance of internal bookkeeping.

A pseudonym may mean little in isolation. Reconciled with an instruction, a payment or an identifying document, it may help attribute an action. A legal separation visible from outside can coexist with management links preserved inside the business.

This analysis describes the possible value of corroborating traces. It assumes no master file authenticated by l0g. Document integrity, context and confirmation of execution require separate checks. An instruction describes an intention; evidence of payment must come from another trace.

L’Obs’s public revelations date to September 2018. S04 Publication is distinct from the delivery of evidence to investigators. The address for the prosecutor’s January 2023 communiqué returned a maintenance page during our checks; exact dates of document transmission are therefore excluded from the facts retained here. S01

Borders change access to information

Published descriptions locate the Emirati operation in Ras al-Khaimah, a different emirate from Dubai. Accounts vary on when the Swiss activity moved. We preserve that limit, without constructing legal continuity or a single relocation date from those publications alone. Vey & Associés, a firm acting for the defence, is cited for its own position and presentation of the case. S06

A change of jurisdiction can alter which authorities must be approached, record-retention rules and the conditions for requesting documents. Establishing obstruction would require assistance requests and responses. Their absence from our collection leaves that question open.

The Common Reporting Standard, or CRS, organises financial-account information reporting. Under the applicable rules, institutions identify account holders and controlling persons of certain entities. Reportable information passes through the competent authority to relevant partners. The OECD’s 2025 consolidated text brings together the standard and amendments; it is an unofficial consolidation. Application depends on domestic rules and exchange relationships. S11

Information travels along that reporting chain. The movement of money follows its own transactions. Incomplete identification, an incorrect tax residence or misclassification can obstruct reconciliation between people and accounts. The existence of a standard is therefore insufficient to measure the quality of information actually received.

The OECD’s 2022 review dates the UAE’s first automatic exchanges to 2018 and then describes participation as non-reciprocal, sending without receiving. This is a dated finding. Establishing an exchange concerning Helin would require the file, its contents and evidence of receipt. S12

Another date must be kept separate from the present: in November 2025, the UAE Ministry of Finance announced CRS 2.0 implementation from 1 January 2027, with first exchanges in 2028. At this investigation’s cutoff, those remain announced future milestones. They do not describe a system already operating during the years being tried. S20

Tracfin belongs to a different reporting channel. France’s financial-intelligence unit analyses suspicious-transaction reports, can request information and passes intelligence to the competent authorities. In the relevant cases, lawyers’ reports pass through their bar president. These institutional powers establish no particular alert in this case. S16 S18

Account information follows a separate route from funds General CRS institutional diagram: reporting financial institution, competent authority in the account jurisdiction, then authority in the relevant tax-residence jurisdiction. Reportable-account and reportable-person conditions and an applicable exchange relationship apply. Information arrows, not money transfers. The 2022 OECD review dates the UAE’s first outgoing exchanges to 2018 and then describes non-reciprocity. Tracfin is a separate channel; no Helin report, transmission or alert has been obtained. THE ACCOUNT INFORMATION ROUTE CRS · reporting and exchange conditions Financial institution Reportable account and persons under the rules Sending authority Account jurisdiction Receiving authority Relevant tax residence Report Applicable exchange UAE: first outgoing exchanges in 2018, according to the 2022 OECD review. TRACFIN · A SEPARATE CHANNEL Obliged professionals Tracfin Competent authorities Reports, financial-intelligence analysis and transmission under the legal framework. Arrows: information, without transfers. No individual Helin record obtained.
Account information follows a separate route from funds General CRS institutional diagram: reporting financial institution, competent authority in the account jurisdiction, then authority in the relevant tax-residence jurisdiction. Reportable-account and reportable-person conditions and an applicable exchange relationship apply. Information arrows, not money transfers. The 2022 OECD review dates the UAE’s first outgoing exchanges to 2018 and then describes non-reciprocity. Tracfin is a separate channel; no Helin report, transmission or alert has been obtained. THE ACCOUNT INFORMATION ROUTE CRS · reporting and exchange conditions Financial institution Reportable account and persons Report Sending authority Account jurisdiction Applicable exchange Receiving authority Relevant tax residence UAE: first outgoing exchanges in 2018, according to the 2022 OECD review. TRACFIN · SEPARATE CHANNEL Obliged Tracfin Authorities Reports and financial-intelligence analysis Arrows: information, without transfers. No individual Helin record obtained.
FIGURE 03Account information and financial intelligenceGeneral institutional diagram, separate from money flows. Under the CRS, reportable information moves from the financial institution to the account jurisdiction’s authority, then to the relevant tax-residence jurisdiction, subject to the applicable conditions. Tracfin operates through a separate channel. This figure establishes no Helin transmission or alert. [S11][S12][S16]
Method and scope
The CRS requires due diligence and reporting according to the account holder, tax residence and applicable classifications; some passive entities require identification of their individual controlling persons. The diagram does not generalise reporting to every shareholder or account. S11 is an unofficial 2025 OECD consolidation: implementation depends on national rules and activated exchange relationships. No current framework is retroactively assigned to all 2007–2018 conduct. The OECD’s 2022 review dates the UAE’s first outgoing exchanges to 2018 and then describes a non-reciprocal position, sending without receiving; it establishes no specific French or Helin transmission. Tracfin receives and analyses information under another framework and may transmit it to competent authorities. The generic obliged-professionals line depicts no direct lawyer report: lawyers’ specific channels pass through the bar president under the applicable legal framework, with protections for legal advice and defence. No Helin report, control log or individual file has been obtained.

The court must attribute actions and knowledge individually

An organisation can deliver a coherent service while distributing information very unevenly among its staff. French complicity law includes assistance knowingly provided. Examining actions and knowledge therefore matters more than a job title. S14

Professional confidentiality likewise requires distinguishing activities. In 2008, the Conseil d’État examined the relationship between anti-money-laundering duties and confidentiality in advice or defence. That general decision and the current framework clarify protections and their limits. Historical allegations require the versions of the rules applicable at the time and each person’s circumstances. S15 S18

AFP reports Henri de Croÿ broadly acknowledging responsibility. S09 This remains a reported statement by one participant. The judgment and other defendants’ responsibility must be assessed separately.

In 2023, Le Monde reported four convicted clients. S21

The newspaper also reported that two former employees were convicted on 9 June 2026 through a guilty-plea procedure. S08

Those proceedings concern different people and matters. France’s guilty-plea procedure, CRPC, combines a prosecutor’s proposal, acceptance with legal counsel and judicial approval. The approval order can be appealed. We obtained neither the original decisions in the cited proceedings nor their complete appeal status. S17

Scrutiny must examine the service and its revenue

Assets under administration leave the provider’s revenue unresolved. Assessing the profitability of a secrecy service requires contracts, invoices and receipts, then the corresponding remuneration and costs. Assessing the public results of an investigation also requires separating seizures, tax assessments, court decisions and cash collected.

These checks extend beyond the final client. Intermediaries can contribute expertise, trust and means of execution. Examining their concrete functions should help establish each person’s responsibility.

Discretion sold to a client requires precision inside the provider’s business. Records needed to operate the service may preserve links that its outward appearance made hard to see. This is the trial’s economic and evidentiary importance: examining the alleged organisation and establishing, through evidence, who did what.

Scope and limitations

This analysis combines institutional sources, dated legal rules and explicitly attributed reporting. We attended no hearing and obtained neither the original leak, the full case file nor bank statements. The diagrams depict reported or general mechanisms; the tax model is fictional. Prosecution estimates remain subject to judicial examination.

The references distinguish actual access, interested-party sources and evidentiary limits. No requests for comment were sent. The opening illustration was made with the built-in image tool; the SVGs use the cited sources and assumptions.

Further reading

Cum-cum: court decisions and accountability examines the attribution of responsibility in a separate tax case. Arkéa: the race to bring stolen money home explains the steps between discovering a transaction and recovering the funds.

Sources and scope

  1. S01 · Parquet national financier · Accessed: 2026-11-10Referenced prosecutor’s communiqué
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2023-01-18

    Unavailable reference: PDF not obtained; content and receipt dates unverified.

  2. S02 · AFP / TV5MONDE · Accessed: 2026-11-10Prosecution
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2026-11-02

    Original indictment unavailable.

  3. S03 · Radio France / Secrets d’info · Accessed: 2026-11-10Mechanisms reported in 2019
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2019-04-13

    Original documentary reporting and interviews; l0g does not hold the leak, and varying fees support no global extrapolation.

  4. S04 · L’Obs · Accessed: 2026-11-10Public disclosure
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2018-09-05

    Publication date displayed by the outlet; no judicial receipt date inferred.

  5. S05 · Association de la Presse Judiciaire · Accessed: 2026-11-10Professional calendar
    Passages and scope

    Publication date not established.

    Association calendar, subject to change; scheduled hearing end is separate from a judgment date.

  6. S06 · Vey & Associés · Accessed: 2026-11-10Defence presentation
    Passages and scope

    Publication date not established.

    Firm acting for the defence; conflicting version dates, publication date unresolved and views attributed.

  7. S07 · Le Monde / Abdelhak El Idrissi · Accessed: 2026-11-10Professions
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2026-11-02

    Case documents unavailable.

  8. S08 · Le Monde · Accessed: 2026-11-10Plea procedure
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2026-06-10

    Original orders unavailable.

  9. S09 · AFP / Le Figaro · Accessed: 2026-11-10Hearing
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2026-11-09

    Partial press account.

  10. S10 · OCDE · Accessed: 2026-11-10Professional enablers
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2021-02-25

    Institutional professional-enabler framework; international scope differs from French complicity law and supplies no individual Helin evidence.

  11. S11 · OCDE · Accessed: 2026-11-10CRS: 2025 consolidation
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2025-06-02

    Unofficial consolidation published in 2025; domestic implementation and exchange relationships require verification, with no retroactive application or Helin file obtained.

  12. S12 · OCDE · Accessed: 2026-11-102022 UAE review
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2022

    Findings of the 2022 review: first exchanges in 2018 and non-reciprocity then observed; no comprehensive assessment of 2026.

  13. S13 · Service Public / DILA · Accessed: 2026-11-10Deductible expenses
    Passages and scope

    Publication date not established.

    Page verified in June 2023; fictitious expenses are non-deductible, and the arithmetic example is hypothetical rather than a case estimate.

  14. S14 · Légifrance · Accessed: 2026-11-10Complicity: article 121-7
    Passages and scope

    Publication date not established.

    Version effective since March 1994; acts and knowledge require individual findings, without conclusions about the defendants.

  15. S15 · Conseil d’État · Accessed: 2026-11-10Professional confidentiality: 2008 ruling
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2008-04-10

    Ruling dated 10 April 2008 under the framework then reviewed; confidentiality and anti-money-laundering duties, without a finding about Helin.

  16. S16 · Tracfin / Légifrance · Accessed: 2026-11-10Tracfin: remit and reporting channels
    Passages and scope

    Publication date not established.

    Institutional remit and ERMES documentation read. The bar-president role validates the relevant reports. L561-17, version effective from 14 February 2020 read as at 8 October 2026: professional filtering subject to L561-3, with an exception for lawyers acting as trustees. The current-date code page was inaccessible; no retroactive application to historical allegations. No Helin report established.

    ERMES: bar-president role

    Article L561-17: text as at 8 October 2026

  17. S17 · Service Public / DILA · Accessed: 2026-11-10CRPC procedure
    Passages and scope

    Publication date not established.

    Page verified in March 2025; general explanation of acceptance with counsel and judicial approval, with individual appeal status unverified.

  18. S18 · Légifrance · Accessed: 2026-11-10Current scope of L561-3
    Passages and scope

    Publication date not established.

    Version effective since December 2024; exceptions depend on activities and professions, without retrospective application to the alleged conduct.

  19. S20 · Ministry of Finance, United Arab Emirates · Accessed: 2026-11-10CRS 2.0: announced timetable
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2025-11-08

    Administrative CRS 2.0 announcement: 2027 and 2028 milestones remain future at 10 November 2026, without demonstrated individual implementation.

  20. S21 · Le Monde / Abdelhak El Idrissi · Accessed: 2026-11-10Earlier cases
    Passages and scope

    Published: 2023-01-18

    Secondary source only.

This analysis is not investment advice.

// cite this analysis

l0g, “Dubai Papers: the business of hidden wealth goes on trial”, l0g.fr, published November 10, 2026, updated November 10, 2026, https://l0g.fr/en/analysis/dubai-papers-business-hidden-wealth/

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