FRANCE: A French court yesterday found the eldest son of former French President François Mitterrand guilty of tax fraud and sentenced him to a suspended 30-month prison sentence.
The court in Paris said Jean-Christophe Mitterrand had failed to declare revenues of €1.25 million in 1998 and 1999, on which he would have had to pay tax of €630,000.
It also ruled that he would face time in jail if he refused to pay back the money, although that was a distant prospect as Mr Mitterrand's lawyers have contested the tax claims in civil courts and the proceedings could take years.
Mr Mitterrand, who was not in court for the ruling, had been facing a maximum sentence of five years in jail and a fine of €75,000, in addition to having to pay the overdue tax. Prosecutors had requested a 20-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of €30,000.
It was the latest in a series of legal woes for Mr Mitterrand, who is the subject of a separate inquiry into his role in an Angolan arms trafficking scandal.
He is suspected of complicity in illicit arm deals which prosecutors say were brokered by billionaire businessman Pierre Falcone.
Mr Falcone is accused of selling weapons from the former Soviet Union to war-torn Angola in 1993 and 1994.
Mr Mitterrand has denied any wrongdoing in connection with the arms scandal, which cast a shadow over his father's presidency.
In the tax fraud trial, Mitterrand's lawyers said that between 1996 and 2000 their client lived in Mauritania and therefore he was not liable for any taxes in France.
The court heard evidence however that he was living in Paris at the time.