A French appeals court has upheld the tax fraud conviction of Jérôme Cahuzac, the former budget minister who led a crackdown on tax avoidance while hiding millions of euros in offshore accounts. The case, one of France's biggest political scandals in recent years, deepened public distrust in the political class.
Cahuzac, 65, a former cosmetic surgeon, was sentenced on Tuesday to four years in prison, with two years suspended, for tax fraud and money laundering. He was also fined €300,000 (£263,000) and banned from running for office for five years. The sentence is less severe than the three-year prison term he received at his first trial in 2016.
Appointed by President François Hollande in 2012 to lead a drive against wealthy tax avoiders, Cahuzac was exposed by investigative website Mediapart within months. He initially denied the allegations, lying to parliament, before admitting in 2013 that he had hidden money in a Swiss account for 20 years.
Cahuzac and his ex-wife, Patricia Ménard, who was also convicted, ran a lucrative hair-transplant business treating celebrities. They hid millions of euros from tax authorities for two decades, moving funds through Switzerland, Singapore, and the Isle of Man. Following the scandal, Hollande strengthened measures on financial corruption and transparency in political life.
