They had hidden 65 million euros from the tax authorities between them.
A French nonagenarian and her son were sentenced Tuesday in Paris to two years in prison and a fine of 1.75 million euros each for tax evasion, in the context of the "Dubai Papers" affair, revelations on a vast system of tax evasion.
The sentence, proposed by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) during an appearance with prior admission of guilt (CRPC), i.e. a guilty plea procedure, was approved by a judge.
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The two defendants, a 91-year-old heiress and her son, a 63-year-old hospital doctor, tried for laundering tax fraud and laundering aggravated tax fraud between 2013 and 2019, both admitted their guilt at the bar.
Investigations “still underway in France”
The family, heirs to a fortune “hidden” for several generations according to the president, is accused of having “hidden” it first in banking establishments in Switzerland, before “transferring part of these funds to the Helin group with a view to a tax evasion operation consisting of creating a shell company established in the United Arab Emirates.
This company is at the heart of a network whose existence was revealed by L'Obs and Radio France in September 2018, revealing with these "Dubai Papers" an "offshore money laundering system in the United Arab Emirates".
Criminal investigations were then launched and those concerning the Helin group “are still ongoing in France and abroad”, the prosecution recalled on Tuesday.
The nonagenarian sentenced Tuesday admitted to having hidden 28 million euros from the tax authorities, around 37 million for her son.
The latter has now “paid” its arrears to the tax authorities, underlined the president, namely 21 million euros.
These are the ninth and tenth people convicted in this case, nine of them through “guilty plea” procedures.
At this stage, 79 French taxpayers unmasked thanks to the "Dubai Papers" scandal are subject to "control by the tax administration" and "most are or will be affected by adjustments and prosecutions by the PNF", said the prosecutor.