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Police search home of Wendel chairman: source


    PARIS (Reuters) - Police searched the home of Wendel supervisory board chairman Ernest-Antoine Seilliere as well as the French investment group's headquarters as part of an investigation into suspected tax fraud, a judicial source told Reuters on Tuesday.

    The Paris prosecutor opened the probe, targeting 14 current and former Wendel managers including Seilliere, in June following a complaint by the tax authorities.

    The investigation relates to the conditions in which the 14 people received 4.7 percent of the capital of Wendel in May 2007 for a total of 324 million euros ($418 million). They have all denied any fraud.

    A spokeswoman for Wendel confirmed that the police visited the company's offices at 0855 GMT on Tuesday.

    "They specified that they wished to search certain offices of certain private individuals," the spokeswoman said. She added that the company itself was not involved in the investigation. Wendel had no further comment on the people concerned.

    The searches are being led by independent investigating magistrate Guillaume Daieff, and the matter could lead to a criminal prosecution in addition to a demand already made of payment of 240 million euros ($310 million) of back taxes.

    ($1 = 0.7743 euros)

    (Reporting by Thierry Leveque and James Regan; Editing by David Cowell)