The Corruption Probe Rocking Altice, Billionaire Drahi’s Telecoms Empire

A criminal investigation in Portugal is sending shock waves through Altice, billionaire Patrick Drahi’s sprawling telecommunications empire. The probe into suspected corruption, money laundering and tax fraud has resulted in the suspension of about a dozen executives and 60 suppliers in Portugal, France and the US, pushing some of Altice’s bonds deep into distress. The spreading crisis comes as the group’s debt pile has ballooned to more than $60 billion after years of aggressive acquisitions; that debt is getting more expensive to service as interest rates rise. The company says it’s a victim of the alleged wrongdoings.

It’s a conglomerate that provides phone services, internet access and television content from the US to Israel. Drahi, a French-Israeli who lives in Switzerland, founded the firm with two partners in 2002 and expanded it through high-profile acquisitions of companies including the French carrier SFR Group SA, and Suddenlink Communications and Cablevision Systems Corp. in the US. The company is now run in separate units. Drahi’s investment vehicle Next Alt Sarl still owns a stake in Altice USA after it was listed in 2017. It also fully controls the SFR brand via Altice France and, separately, operations in Portugal, Israel and the Dominican Republic, which are grouped under Altice International. Drahi’s group also became the biggest shareholder of British carrier BT Group Plc after starting to build a stake in 2021.