Portugal Colonial - French actor Gerard Depardieu probed for tax fraud: source close to case

Depardieu, 76, already accused in a string of sexual assault and rape cases, is suspected of falsely declaring his tax residency to be in Belgium since 2013, the source said.

A probe of his tax status, opened this month by financial crime prosecutors and now run by police, has involved raids in France and Belgium as well as police interviews, the source said.

Depardieu is the highest-profile figure to face accusations in French cinema's version of the #MeToo movement.

In October, a Paris court postponed his trial on sexual assault charges until March after his lawyer said the star was too ill to appear in court. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Depardieu became a star in France from the 1980s with roles in "The Last Metro", "Police" and "Cyrano de Bergerac", before Peter Weir's "Green Card" also made him a Hollywood celebrity.

He later acted in global productions including Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet", Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" and Netflix's "Marseille" series.

R.J.Fidalgo--PC