William Molinie
The Paris Court of Appeal sentenced Patrick and Isabelle Balkany to respective terms of four and a half and three and a half years in prison for laundering tax evasion, sentences reduced compared to the first instance. Will the couple serve their sentence in prison? A priori, the spouses should escape it.
Patrick and Isabelle Balkany were sentenced on Monday by the Paris Court of Appeal. Their pain? Four and a half and three and a half years in prison for money laundering of tax evasion – reduced sentences compared to the first instance. The couple from Levallois-Perret were found guilty of concealment with 13 million euros in tax assets, including two beautiful villas in the Caribbean and Morocco. However, the couple should escape from prison.
The question of the Cossy mill
The court ordered a total confusion of sentences. Patrick Balkany has already served just under a year in prison, so he will not be returning to detention. His wife Isabelle Balkany will not be incarcerated either.
On the other hand, all the problems are not solved for the spouses, because the court of appeal has decided to confiscate for 30 years the usufruct of the mill of Cossy in Giverny, in the Eure. It is now their home – a four-hectare property owned by their children. A total of 1,000 square meters of living space, ten bedrooms, with swimming pool, hammam and a tennis court. This confiscation measure was described as totally ridiculous by Patrick Balkany at the end of the hearing.
He will also challenge this specific point with an appeal in cassation. There is therefore little risk that the Balkany spouses will be expelled in the coming weeks, especially since the State will have to determine precisely the terms of this confiscation. Again, this should open the door to new legal disputes.