French sports tax authorities are seeking 244,789 euros from Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner following the liquidation of his real estate company, Le Républicain Lorrain reported on Wednesday.
The specialized debt recovery unit for the Hauts-de-Seine department has pursued the sum for months without success. As a result, the tax administration took the matter to court, stating that efforts to secure payment of the debts remained unsuccessful.
Records show the real estate firm, Riner Estate, was established with a business partner. The company owned two properties and launched 1.5 million euros in construction work for a 260-square-meter villa on a plot in La Turbie in the Alpes-Maritimes department. The partner withdrew from the project in 2018.
The company also surfaced in a separate 2018 inquiry involving the Parquet National Financier regarding links between a presidential election candidate and former judoka Hugo Peszynski, which prompted a search of premises at the time.
In response to the report, Riner sent a right of reply stating that these judicial procedures do not concern him in any way. This latest financial dispute follows an earlier tax case concerning luxury vehicles that highlighted personal expenses channeled through his companies.
In early November, the Versailles Court of Appeal upheld a ruling against the heavyweight judoka. The court found that he could not have been unaware of the advantage provided by the company covering personal expenses, which repeatedly reduced corporate revenue and constituted taxable sums.
Judges wrote in the ruling that the athlete demonstrated a deliberate intention to lower the tax he owed for the years under dispute.
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