French Prosecutors Urge Jail For Tax-dodging Ex-minister
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published February 21, 2018 | 12:35 AM
French prosecutors on Tuesday asked a court to uphold the three-year, tax-fraud sentence of a former Socialist budget minister who stashed hundreds of thousands of euros in a Swiss bank account.
Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Feb, 2018 ) :French prosecutors on Tuesday asked a court to uphold the three-year, tax-fraud sentence of a former Socialist budget minister who stashed hundreds of thousands of Euros in a Swiss bank account.
Jerome Cahuzac was forced to resign from government in 2013 after it emerged that that he had been squirreling away undeclared cash from his lucrative Parisian hair transplant clinic. The revelations caused severe embarrassment to then president Francois Hollande, who had appointed Cahuzac to crack down on tax cheats.
Pressed on the allegations, Cahuzac lied both to Hollande and parliament before finally coming clean. In the wake of the scandal France set up an anti-corruption agency and a national office to prosecute financial crimes.
In 2016, a court jailed Cahuzac for three years for tax fraud and barred him from holding elected office for five years. The 65-year former political heavy-hitter appealed his sentence, prompting a retrial.
Addressing the defendant on Tuesday the public prosecutor said Cahuzac's trial was his "greatest contribution" to the fight against tax fraud.
"Impunity is thinking that the law is only for others," he said.
If the appeal court returns a lighter sentence of two years or less, Cahuzac will likely not have to spend time behind bars and instead do community service. The court could, on the other hand, increase his sentence to up to five years in prison and a 375,000 euro ($460,000) fine, or follow the prosecutor's recommendations by keeping it unchanged.
During his 2016 trial Cahuzac told the court he hid funds offshore to maintain his family's standard of living, which included apartments for his children in London and Paris and to pay for holidays in Mauritius.
His ex-wife Patricia Menard, who held an account in the Isle of Man that was also used to hide money, was sentenced to two years in prison. Cahuzac's bank in Geneva, Reyl, was fined 1.9 million euros and its boss Francois Reyl was handed a one-year suspended jail term and a 375,000 euro fine for helping Cahuzac move his funds to offshore companies.
Neither Menard, the bank nor Reyl appeared their sentences.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
DP World ILT20 Season 3 to begin from 11 January 2025
Sharjah Public Library unveils interactive arts and crafts journey at SCRF 2024
"Wonder Walks” show makes an enthralling debut at SCRF 2024
Remarkable Young Minds Light up the Stage at Sharjah Children’s Reading
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 12 May 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 12 May 2024
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's visit schedule being discussed
Govt decides to procurement wheat from farmers
Deputy PM to pay 4-day visit to China from Monday
Pakistan seeks foreign investments in diverse sectors: PM
Digital transformation key priority for govt to improve tax collection: Aurangze ..
President-designate of COP29 for collective efforts to deal with climate change ..
More Stories From World
-
Nepali, British climbers extend Everest records
2 minutes ago -
Football: English Championship play-off semi-final results
2 minutes ago -
Fighting rages across Gaza as death toll tops 35,000
12 minutes ago -
At least 34 killed in Indonesia floods, 16 missing
12 minutes ago -
Football: Italian Serie A results
22 minutes ago -
Football: Italian Serie A table
22 minutes ago
-
First patient to get gene-edited pig kidney transplant dies
32 minutes ago -
Ex-bike champ Rossi relishes 'honour' of taking on Le Mans on four wheels
32 minutes ago -
Russia claims more advances in Ukraine's Kharkiv region
32 minutes ago -
Full-scale Rafah offensive 'cannot take place': UN rights chief
42 minutes ago -
Ishaq Dar to arrive in Beijing on Monday on official visit
52 minutes ago -
Spain PM's Socialists eye power grab as Catalonia votes
1 hour ago