Adidas headquarters raided amid German tax evasion probe

The Herzogenaurach headquarters of sportswear giant Adidas have been raided as part of a multiyear probe into alleged tax evasion reportedly worth more than 1.1 billion euros.

The European Public Prosector’s Office (EPPO) told the Financial Times (FT) that it was pursuing a “criminal investigation" against a German “corporate group trading in sportswear” over “suspicions of tax evasion relating to customs duties and import sales tax”.

Without explicitly naming Adidas, the organisation said that the potential offences were believed to have taken place in Germany and Austria, and were “to the detriment of the EU budget”. A percentage of the tax claims are in regards to import VAT that Adidas is believed to have not declared or paid.

Adidas confirmed the raids to the media outlet, to which it stated that it was “co-operating with the authorities and providing the necessary documents and information”. Its headquarters was among a number of business locations and employee residences to have been subject to raids, sources for FT claimed.

One of these sources stated that the suspected total tax damage could sit at more than 1.1 billion euros, however, both Adidas and the EPPO declined to comment on the amount or the number of individuals involved.

Adidas did state that it was not expecting “any significant financial impact” from the probe, noting that it had been aware of the situation for “several years”. It claimed that the issue was a result of “different interpretations of German and European law”, with the conduct having taken place between October 2019 and August 2024.