French Rapper Gims Charged with Aggravated Money Laundering Following Paris Arrest

French music star Gims, whose real name is Gandhi Djuna, was charged with aggravated money laundering in Paris on Friday, March 27, 2026, following 48 hours in police custody. The 39-year-old Congolese-born rapper had been detained on Wednesday, March 25, by customs officers from the national judicial customs service as he stepped off a plane at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport. Two other individuals from his entourage were also charged in the case. A judge placed Gims under judicial supervision with an obligation to pay bail, then released him at the end of the indictment proceedings.

New anti-crime office leads complex international probe The case is being handled by the Pnaco, a specialized prosecutor's office created at the start of 2026. According to Africa Intelligence, the investigation centers on an international money laundering network involving a large number of companies set up across multiple countries to evade VAT and other French taxes, facilitate the issuing of false invoices, launder funds from illegal activities, and conceal their origin. The specialized outlet reported that five former drug traffickers from the Paris region who had turned to financial crime had already been implicated in the case. The investigation is being conducted under a commission rogatoire issued by investigating judges working alongside the Pnaco. The breadth of the alleged network, spanning multiple jurisdictions and corporate structures, reflects the complexity of cases the Pnaco was specifically created to handle.

Luxury Marrakech villa project draws investigators' attention A central focus of the investigation is a luxury real estate development in Marrakech, Morocco, called Sunset Village Private Residences, which Gims actively promoted. The project, launched with considerable fanfare in 2025 in the presence of the artist, consists of 118 luxury villas built around a 3,000-square-metre lagoon, with sports fields, a spa, sauna, and hammam. According to Africa Intelligence, the development was intended to allow the rapper — born in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and who arrived in France at the age of two — to expand into the luxury real estate business. Marrakech is one of the cities where Gims lives, and the project represented a significant commercial venture beyond his music career. Investigators are examining the financial flows connected to the development as part of the broader money laundering inquiry.

Gims, formerly known as Maître Gims, rose to prominence as a member of the French hip-hop group Sexion d'Assaut before launching a solo career. He shortened his stage name to Gims approximately seven years ago. Known for hits including "Sapés comme jamais," "Bella," and "Spider," he has ranked among the top artists on French music platforms for roughly a decade. In 2025, he was named best male artist at the 40th Victoires de la Musique.

Judge overrules prosecutor, allows Abidjan concert to proceed Despite the charges, Gims retained the right to travel abroad after a judge rejected the prosecutor's request to ban him from leaving French territory. The Pnaco had sought to impose a travel ban as part of the judicial supervision conditions, but the magistrate declined. As a result, Gims was expected to be able to perform at a concert scheduled for Sunday in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The decision underscored the limits of prosecutorial requests at the indictment stage, where judges retain independent authority over supervision measures. The case marks a significant legal development for one of the most commercially successful artists in the French-speaking music world.

118 (luxury villas) — scale of Sunset Village Private Residences project in Marrakech