Judge orders cognitive checks on Hermès heir Puech

A Paris investigating judge has ordered psychiatrists to assess the cognitive abilities of Nicolas Puech, the 83-year-old Hermès heir who says he was stripped of his 6% stake in the luxury house. Reuters reported the order, citing two people with direct knowledge of the decision. The sources said that if the experts find Puech was vulnerable and was taken advantage of, the bar for criminal liability in the investigation into his missing fortune could be lower. His former shares would be worth about $9 billion at current market prices.reuters.com

The step brings in "abuse of weakness," a French criminal offense that covers exploiting a person's reduced mental capacity or other vulnerability for undue financial gain. The charge became known internationally through the case of the late L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt.reuters.com

Lawyer appeals order

Swiss lawyer Alexandre Montavon advised LVMH when it quietly built up its Hermès stake in the 2000s. He has appealed the judge's order, according to Reuters' sources. Prosecutors placed him under investigation in May on suspicion of taking part in the misappropriation of Puech's shares for LVMH's benefit. He denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers have argued that he "was never informed" that the shares sent to LVMH might have belonged to Puech, and that Puech had given his wealth manager "the broadest management powers" over his fortune.lemonde.fr+1

French financial crime prosecutors declined to comment, as did spokespeople for Puech and LVMH. Neither LVMH nor its chairman, Bernard Arnault, has been named a formal suspect. Hermès shares closed slightly lower in Paris after the report.reuters.com+1

A 25-year saga

The case dates back to when LVMH worked with Puech's Swiss wealth manager, Eric Freymond, to quietly buy up shares in its smaller rival. LVMH eventually held as much as 23% of Hermès before agreeing in a 2014 truce to unwind the stake. In September, Reuters reported that LVMH had targeted Puech's holdings through a 2002 pact with Freymond and paid him at least $20 million in commissions and fees. In a June court filing, LVMH said any purchase of Puech's shares would have been unintentional. Freymond denied wrongdoing before he died in 2025.reuters.com

Le Monde reported that the investigation has established that Freymond sold all of Puech's Hermès shares over the years. Four lawyers, a notary and a businessman have been charged, and the judge plans to summon Arnault himself. Puech has also filed a civil suit naming LVMH and Arnault as defendants. It seeks €14 billion in damages from whoever is found guilty.lemonde.fr+1

Puech says he did not find out his shares were gone until 2022, after he cut ties with Freymond, whom he had trusted blindly for decades. "He had all the signatures in my name and prepared all the documents," he told L'Express in 2025.reuters.com