How a handyman's wife helped a Hermès heir discover he had lost $15 billion

Freymond replied with a bombshell: The two men were lovers. “I think he loved me in a way. We were a couple,” Freymond said, adding that they were “extremely discreet” about the relationship. Freymond described the two men’s mixed lives at homes and five-star hotels across Spain, Switzerland and London, where they lived in nearby flats. When asked by a magistrate what Puech saw in him, Freymond replied that it was “probably my appearance. My way of carrying myself. The fact that I had respect for him.” But according to Puech, it was all a lie—one of many spun by Freymond over the years to create an elaborate fiction around his client. Puech told French investigating magistrates that his money manager was not a lover but rather a trusted friend who became a Svengali-like figure and isolated him from friends and family so he could stash away a massive fortune. By protecting Puech from anyone who could expose his deceptions, Freymond maintained control over him, Puech said – and was able to maintain the illusion that Puech was still one of Europe’s richest people. Puech, the 82-year-old fifth-generation heir to one of Europe’s most iconic and profitable businesses, testified that Freymond “turned out to be a fraud, even a gangster.” When the magistrates asked about his current financial situation, Puech said he had requested to liquidate his holding in a Hermès property unit, worth about $1.2 million. “Otherwise I have nothing left,” Puech said. Freymond, who was 67 years old and married with two daughters, was hit by a train and killed in his Alpine village near Gstaad in July, a death that local police concluded was a suicide. The testimony of Freymond and Puech was reviewed by the Journal; it has not been publicly released and much of it has not been previously reported. The testimony, as well as other legal documents and the accounts of people who knew both, provide fresh details about the relationship at the center of what could be one of the frauds of the century — a $15 billion disappearance involving the largest individual holding of shares in Hermès, the prestigious French luxury group considered the pinnacle of fashion icon and Birkin handbags. View full image Iconic Hermès silk scarves and Birkin handbags. Puech sued Freymond in both Switzerland and France before his death, and what happened to Puech’s wealth is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation by magistrates in Paris. Puech is cooperating with this investigation in an attempt to recover some of his fortune. Freymond has faced other allegations of wrongdoing during his long career as a wealth manager. In 2010, he and his company at the time were fined four million euros for insider trading. A deceased French ballet dancer and actress sued him for breach of trust, an allegation he denied. Other former clients alleging wrongdoing include the original Bond girl, Swiss actress Ursula Andress. And the estate of a late businessman is seeking to recover a €20 million, or about $23 million, loan arranged by Freymond. Increasing pressure In the weeks before his death at the end of July, legal and financial pressure on Freymond increased. The French investigation was gathering pace. On July 7, just two weeks before his death, Freymond was in Paris to answer questions from magistrates. In his testimony, Freymond confirmed what many observers had long believed to be true — that he sold most of Puech’s Hermès interests to the company’s rival, LVMH, more than a decade ago. His defense was that his client was aware of the sales, but Puech denies this, citing in part documents that show Freymond repeatedly assured him in subsequent years that his fortune was intact. The same day, a court in Geneva ordered the freezing of Freymond’s bank accounts. Five days before his death, the order was extended to include the paintings, sculptures and furniture in his Geneva residence. Puech’s lawyers say they have now traced how Freymond shifted some of the proceeds from the Hermès share sales to bad investments, often through entities linked to a small network of people around the Swiss financier. An architect close to Freymond even oversaw the renovation of a vineyard property in southwest France — a project Puech funded for family members — and filled it with designer furniture that was later revealed to be fake. Puech is now being helped financially by some members of the Hermès family and other people close to him. On a recent flight to London, the heavyweight pushed Puech into a middle seat on EasyJet, the famously low-budget European airline, according to people close to him. The two men were products of European high society who were nevertheless very different. Puech spent much of his time in a small hamlet in the Alps or taking care of his horses. Freymond, on the other hand, was consumed with fine art and luxury, and fond of complex investments and financial transactions. One person who visited Palazzo Al Bosco, his private estate near Florence and saw his collection of art and designer furniture, said: “It was unimaginable.” Their relationship unraveled after an innocuous investigation three years ago. In the summer of 2022, while sitting with Freymond at Puech’s sprawling mountain chalet in Ferret, Switzerland, discussing routine financial matters, the heir asked about transferring one million Swiss francs, equivalent to $1.25 million, to his longtime handyman Jadil Butrak and his wife, Maria Paz, whom he considered almost an adopted family. Puech said he found it strange that Butrak did not thank him. When later questioned by French magistrates, Puech recalled Freymond’s explanation: “Since he is ashamed of money, he did not want to mention it.” Paz, who was in the next room, heard the exchange. After Freymond left, she approached Puech: Freymond lied, she said. No money ever arrived. Not knowing where to turn, Puech trusted a friend, a former French ambassador, who advised him to do an audit. Early deceptions Freymond’s deceptions began early in his career. In the 1980s, when he married into one of Geneva’s most prominent families, Freymond took a position at Ferrier, Lullin & Cie, the private bank where his father-in-law, Guy van Berchem, was a partner. Van Berchem was one of the city’s most respected financiers, a patrician figure with deep roots in Genevan society. In that rarefied environment, Freymond quickly made a name for himself. Colleagues remember him as ambitious and on his way to stardom in the firm, but they also recall that troubling habits had already emerged. According to these former colleagues, Freymond made extensive use of pre-prepared customer forms to handle withdrawals and refunds. The practice, which was allowed by the bank, was intended to save customers the trouble of going to the teller’s desk for cash, but Freymond’s customers began to complain that the amounts they received did not match what was debited. When auditors came to search Freymond’s desk, the story took a farcical turn: Freymond tried to get rid of the incriminating papers by storing them outside his office window, on the cornice. But a gust of wind scattered the forms into the street, where bank security guards chased them. An audit put the missing amounts at about 1.3 million Swiss francs, according to one of the people. The case was never made public and former colleagues of Freymond believe his powerful father-in-law quietly arranged for clients to be compensated. The episode ended with Freymond’s sudden departure from the bank. Freymond’s in-laws helped his career in another way: They connected him to the Hermès dynasty. Puech—pronounced “pwesh”—belongs to the fifth generation of the Hermès family, along with his cousin Jean-Louis Dumas, who drove the company’s spectacular growth over three decades until his death in 2010. The company went public in 1993, but the family still holds the majority of its shares. Among other things, Puech helped start a couture business that eventually declared bankruptcy and began working as a water-ski instructor, but in recent decades he has lived almost entirely on the dividends of his Hermès shares. Freymond told prosecutors that he first met Puech around 1989, adding that they became “very close” in 1997. Puech said he trusted Freymond because his family was well-known and respected in Geneva. “I had a blind faith in his sense of integrity,” he testified. When he visited Geneva, Puech sometimes stayed with Freymond and his family. “They’ll give me a room like I’m a cousin from the provinces,” he said. In 1999, Freymond advised Puech to transfer his Hermès holdings from France to Switzerland. The shares were in bearer form, meaning they were paper certificates that belonged to whoever physically held them—like cash—so the owner’s name never appeared in a register. The rest of the Hermès family, in contrast, held their shares in registered form, meaning that ownership was recorded in their names and could be easily traced. It is not clear why Puech’s shares were bearer shares. That same year, Puech signed a comprehensive agreement authorizing Freymond not only to manage his assets but also to dispose of them, according to French investigators. Puech testified that he was happy to let Freymond handle all of his finances. “It was to simplify my life. He made sure to pay everything that needed to be paid,” he said. At the turn of the millennium, luxury titan Bernard Arnault entered the picture. After losing out on a bid for Gucci, the LVMH boss began building a stake in Hermès—with the strategic help of Freymond. As his cousin Jean-Louis Dumas neared the end of his tenure, Puech became increasingly anxious about succession. At the time, Freymond said, Puech was “very active and eager” to develop a relationship between Hermès and LVMH. And with his 6% stake, Puech was a pivotal figure in the Hermès shareholding structure. According to an audit later compiled by FTI Consulting, that share was worth around €528 million at the end of 2006. Yet Puech maintains that he never authorized Freymond to dispose of his own interest in the family business. “I had no intention of selling my inherited shares, my family shares,” Puech said. “If, with the dividends produced, he bought new Hermès shares, he could resell them – but not the original inheritance.” And yet, that’s exactly what happened – although the truth remained hidden from Puech for nearly two decades. View full image. A 2012 report by France’s stock market authority said Freymond transferred some 4.8 million Hermès shares from Puech’s account to a vehicle called Dilico four years earlier, before channeling them to Société Générale as part of a share swap with Arnault’s group. Freymond has long maintained he simply sent other shares through Puech’s account before transferring them to LVMH, but regulators did not believe him. He eventually admitted the sales when questioned by magistrates earlier this year. “Absolutely,” he replied. “The acquirer was indeed LVMH, and Mr. Puech was perfectly informed.” He argued that Puech is now trying to evade responsibility to appease his family. Puech told the magistrates that he had not been informed at all and called it another lie. Because the shares went through the French bank, LVMH did not know where they came from, people close to the company said. People familiar with Arnault’s thinking said he did not know that LVMH was buying Puech’s stake. Freymond sold the Hermès shares at an average of €86.66 per share between April and May 2008. Today it is more as worth €2,000 a piece, which would put Puech’s stake at more than $15 billion if never sold. After Arnault’s stock acquisitions finally became public in late 2010, it sparked a bitter feud with the Hermès family that would drag on for years. Puech, who relied on the assurances of Freymond, insisted throughout the litigation that followed that his own possessions were never part of Arnault’s attempt – despite the suspicions of other family members. Part of Puech’s conviction came from the paper trail Freymond put together, including in 2012, when Freymond wrote to Hermès that Puech owned more than 6 million shares. A few months later, Puech voted at the annual meeting as Hermès’ largest individual shareholder and was elected to the board. Constant companions During this period, Freymond took even more control over Puech’s life, including opening his mail and his phone calls. Friends and acquaintances who encountered Puech in those years say they never saw him without Freymond by his side. Henri-Louis Bauer, who ran the Hermès family holding company, told a French magistrate in 2016 that he believed Puech was under Freymond’s control. He told how he traveled to Spain with a lawyer and a psychologist to visit the heir. At first, Puech seemed interested in talking, even asking to review documents Bauer brought. “But that same evening, when we tried to call him back as he asked, he no longer picked up the phone,” Bauer said. “By the next day his line was cut.” People close to Puech say Freymond surrounded him with a small circle of associates, including a lawyer named François Besse. The effect, they say, was to create an echo chamber: When both a trusted financial adviser and a lawyer repeated the same message, it reinforced Puech’s belief in what he was being told. Months before his 75th birthday, Puech received a memo dated September 2017 signed by Besse. It warned that legal proceedings “initiated by your family” were underway and set out a strict set of instructions: He was not to travel to France; he must warn Besse before every trip; and he was to avoid any contact with family members about his whereabouts, according to the memo, which was reviewed by the Journal. The memo urged vigilance with phones – “a single call to or from a cell phone makes it possible to locate the person on the other end” – and advised him never to accept surprise visitors or answer questions: “Remember, the most innocuous questions are the most dangerous.” According to people close to Puech, the same warnings and instructions were also directly reinforced by Freymond, both before and after the memo. Freymond himself helped organize the birthday celebration, which took place in Spain. Vanity Fair, which covered the weekend, described guests arriving by horse-drawn carriage for a dinner and flamenco party, and there were also cultural tours of castles and art galleries. Among the seventy invitees were Farah Diba Pahlavi, widow of Iran’s last shah, former French culture minister Frédéric Mitterrand, and a scattering of aristocrats and artists. It was also noticeable who was missing: any other members of the Hermès family. Puech later told investigators he went out of his way to avoid his family during this time. “I often spent holidays in France with Jadil, his wife and their children, but we had to do it incognito in Scotland to avoid running into members of my family. Mr. Freymond was afraid I could talk to my cousins.” Money trail All the while, in the background, Puech’s fortune was quietly moving. An audit by FTI Consulting recently commissioned by Puech’s legal team found that Puech still held 535,899 Hermès shares at the end of 2013, then worth around €134.4m and making up the bulk of his fortune. Over the next decade, that position dwindled to nothing. Time and again, auditors discovered transfers that pointed back to Freymond or people close to him. In one 2017 transaction, according to a document reviewed by the French investigation, 200,000 Hermès shares were sent to Dubai investment firm Noor Capital, where Olivier Couriol oversaw assets and funds administration. That transfer was made through a Panama-registered shell called Veladale Gardens, which was administered by Freymond. Couriol is a Franco-Swiss financier with a background in banking in Geneva and Dubai. He has been linked to a number of high-profile fraud and money laundering cases. In 2019, he drew the attention of US authorities for allegedly helping to arrange the sale of part of Venezuela’s gold reserves to the United Arab Emirates, a transaction he said was carried out by his company, not him personally, and which he said was perfectly legal. Attempts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful. When French investigators questioned Freymond about his relationship with Couriol earlier this year, he said Couriol was someone he had worked with since 2006. A separate report found that six funds and two special purpose vehicles held by Puech were managed by Nemo Asset Management, an Emirati company described by French investigators as being operated by Couriol. Through Nemo, around €25.8 million of Puech’s money was invested in Hydroma, a company that develops natural hydrogen projects in West Africa. Freymond also set up joint accounts with Puech, including one at the Geneva bank Gonet in which Puech placed around €35.8 million. According to the FTI audit, the outgoing transfers mainly benefited Freymond, with the money spent on a range of purchases, from shares to art. When this account was finally closed, it still held approximately €15 million in cash and investments, which were transferred to Freymond. Other transfers reviewed by investigators include a payment of 7 million Swiss francs made in July 2015 from one of Puech’s accounts to Freymond himself. Between 2014 and 2023, around €4.4 million also flowed to Triuniversal Holding – later renamed Gabriel Holding – a Czech company where Freymond sat on the board and which he says produced movies. And there were about €7 million in transfers to Besse. “Freymond was very generous with those around him,” Puech told investigators. “Mr. Besse really lined his pockets, didn’t he?” In an email to the Journal, Besse said he disputes the information regarding payments made to him, but did not elaborate. Crazy hustle In his last few years, Freymond seemed to be scrambling to keep up appearances. At the end of February 2022 and again in March of that year, he dipped into the estate of his recently deceased client, Richard Desurmont, to extend two loans of €10 million each to Puech. When the funds arrived, Puech’s account with Gonet had been overdrawn for months. However, the loan never benefited the heir. Of that, €13.7 million was channeled into shares of Hydroma, while another part traded in the shares of Moderna, the biotech firm. Moderna shares fell, and the investment lost about €500,000 before it was closed, according to documents reviewed by French investigators. Puech told investigators he never agreed to the loans or other transactions, and said his signature on a letter of authorization must be fake since he was in Tanzania on the date in question. Desurmont’s family sued Puech in an attempt to get the money back, and later sued Freymond for misappropriation of assets. After Paz, the wife of his longtime handyman, pointed out to Puech that Freymond had lied about the transfer of the one million francs, Puech turned to a former ambassador and a notary in a nearby town for advice. The notary wrote to Freymond several times to seek information about Puech’s financial affairs, but received no substantive response. In 2023, Puech launched lawsuits against Freymond in both Geneva and Paris, accusing his longtime adviser of stripping him of his fortune. By the middle of the following year, Freymond was making increasingly desperate efforts to raise cash. First, he hatched a plan to “reissue” six million Hermès shares and sell them quietly, arguing that they were a replacement for Puech’s missing shares, according to people he spoke to about the plan. He called in a banker to draw up documents for the deal, promised him a 6% cut and told them he had connections within a European stock exchange who could arrange the deal. Freymond didn’t hide his own need for money, telling the banker he needed €100 million before the end of the year—though he ended up abandoning the scheme before it went anywhere. Subsequently, Freymond was involved in an attempt to sell the non-existent shares to Qatar. According to documents filed with a later lawsuit, he and Besse presented themselves as acting on Puech’s behalf, agreeing to sell more than six million Hermès shares they said Puech owned to an investment vehicle backed by the Persian Gulf nation. The two parties signed a share purchase agreement on February 10. Puech says he was completely in the dark, and that he learned about the supposed deal in April from a news article. The piece reported that the Hermès heir is being sued in Washington, DC for allegedly reneging on the deal. In an email, Besse said he disputed this account but did not provide any details. In the following weeks, Freymond’s acquaintances tried to convince Puech that the missing shares had been found. One sent a text conveying what he called “exceptional news”: A “huge royal family” had traced its long-lost Hermès stake to a company in the US. Another claimed Puech was in line for a €2bn payout – provided he immediately agreed to the supposed sale. But Freymond’s hold on Puech has now been broken. He brushed both of them off and told them to talk to his lawyer. The Hermès heir continues to discover new signs of his financial demise. Puech learned earlier this year that the house in the Swiss hamlet of Ferret—his primary residence—is not his. It legally belongs to a foundation he founded called Isocrates. He no longer has the right to use it. View Full Image Puech learned earlier this year that this house in the Swiss hamlet of Ferret is not his. “I should have signed documents,” he told magistrates, although he said he did not realize it at the time. The foundation considered selling the property back to him, a prospect Puech rejected: “I can’t buy this house twice.” One of the heir’s advisers instead floated the idea of ​​a symbolic buyback for a single Swiss franc, but nothing has yet come of it.