A former LVMH executive — dismissed after being accused of misconduct, including allegedly giving a colleague the middle finger — is suing the group’s wines and spirits subsidiary, Moët Hennessy, for €1.7 million ($2 million). He claims his firing was not due to management issues, but rather in retaliation for reporting suspected sales of products to Russia that violated sanctions.

Kenneth Kralick, who led online sales for the wines and spirits division of LVMH, says his boss turned against him after he blew the whistle in April 2023 on an alleged parallel distribution system channeling products through the United States to Russia.

“That’s when the real difficulties began,” his lawyer, Marine Le Conte, told the Paris tribunal on Thursday. She argued he was harassed in the lead-up to his dismissal a year later. His role was reduced, and his boss deliberately conducted meetings in French — a language Kralick doesn’t speak.

Moët Hennessy’s attorney, Pascal Delignières, said the claims about the Russian sales channel do not hold up. He argued that Kralick was dismissed following an internal investigation into his managerial conduct, based on complaints from staff.

According to Delignières, the inquiry found that Kralick raised his middle finger at a colleague during a meeting with about 50 staff members and told another that he would buy her “a pair of Louboutin shoes” if she met her targets.

Kralick denies the first incident occurred and says he does not recall the second, adding that no witnesses have corroborated what he admits would have been a tactless remark if true.

The dispute coincides with a management shakeup at Moët Hennessy earlier this year. Chief executive officer Philippe Schaus has been succeeded by Jean-Jacques Guiony and deputy Alexandre Arnault, son of LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault. The new leadership has pledged to shrink the workforce after revenues slumped amid weakening demand for Hennessy cognac in China and the United States.

Moët Hennessy and Kralick’s former manager declined to comment.

Another lawyer for Kralick, Avi Bitton, stated that his client was regarded as a top performer at Moët Hennessy until he raised concerns about the alleged sales to Russia.

“He believes that his dismissal for serious misconduct, without notice or compensation, constitutes retaliation for having blown the whistle by reporting the violation of U.S. sanctions against Russia,” Bitton said by email after the hearing. He claimed that the investigation itself was part of the harassment campaign against his client.

Much of Kralick’s claim also concerns overtime pay. He is also contesting the manner of his dismissal, stating that three guards escorted him in front of his colleagues on his final day.

“It was a little bit like a walk of shame,” said Le Conte.

A ruling is expected on November 14.