L’Oreal heiress sells Seychelles island linked to tax evasion scheme

The billionaire heiress to the L’Oreal beauty goods empire has sold a Seychelles island at the heart of a tax evasion case, the archipelago’s government said.

France’s richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt, sold the Indian Ocean island to an offshore company affiliated with Switzerland-based campaign group Save our Seas Foundation for €49m plus €8.5m for stamp duty and other taxes, ministers said.

Ms Bettencourt, 89, bought D’Arros island in 1997. Her ownership came to light through media reports in 2010 claiming the island was undeclared to French authorities.