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Former French PM Fillon sentenced to jail for embezzling public funds
A French court on Monday sentenced former Prime Minister Francois Fillon to five years in jail, three of them suspended, for embezzling public funds in a scandal that wrecked his 2017 run for president.
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The court also found Fillon’s wife, Penelope, guilty for her role in the scam that saw her receive about 1 million euros for minimal work as her husband’s parliamentary assistant. She received a suspended three-year sentence.
In a scathing ruling, the chief judge said Fillon, 66, had eroded public trust in the political class as a result of paying his wife a salary that was disproportionate to the work done.
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“Mrs. Fillon was hired for a position that was without use,”
chief judge Nathalie Gavarino told the couple. The Fillons would appeal the verdict, defence lawyer Antonin Levy said. It means Fillon will avoid going to jail before the appeal is heard.
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A consummate political insider who was prime minister under Nicolas Sarkozy
from 2007-2012, Fillon had been the frontrunner in the election race when
the allegations surfaced At the time, he denied wrongdoing, resisted party pressure to pull his candidacy, and was eliminated in the first round of the vote. When the scandal broke, Fillon denounced what he called a campaign of dirty tricks and denied having done anything illegal, though he later admitted an error of judgment. But the court said the couple had failed to prove what work Penelope did and had amassed wealth as a result of the scam. “The resulting personal enrichment (was) substantial,” the judges determined. Fillon stood expressionless as the sentence was announced. The court also convicted a third co-defendant, Marc Joulaud, to a suspended three-year sentence for continuing to channel money to Penelope Fillon after he took the conservative politician’s parliamentary seat while her husband was in government. The court ordered the Fillons to pay 401,000 euros in damages to the National Assembly, and told Penelope Fillon and Joulaud to pay a further 679,000 euros.
30 June 20 Top Stories Arab parties unite to ‘bring down Netanyahu’ in Israel’s September elections Pakistan to restore visa services for Afghan nationals
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India's River Diversion Plan and South Asia's Waters More dams are to come, as India’s need to power its economy means it is quietly spending billions on hydropower in Kashmir. The Senate report totted up 33 hydro projects in the border area with Pakistan. The state’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, says dams will add an extra 3,000MW to the grid in the next eight years alone. Some analysts in Srinagar talk of over 60 dam projects, large and small, now on the books. (This special report has appeared in the Bulletin on Current Affairs - February 2012, you may have to Buy the print edition to read full story) More in the Edition: South Asia's Water - a growing rivalry Indian, Pakistani & Chinese Border Disputes India's River Diversion Plan: Its impact on Bangladesh Water Crisis can Trigger nuclear war in South Asia Reclaimed Water - the Western Experience Bulletin on Current Affairs is delivered FREE of cost to the members of Bookmark Book Club
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