Allegation French Minister Used Isle of Man To Dodge Tax Reaches Court

News from Mannin Branch Celtic League:

A potential tax evasion scandal involving the Isle of Man breaks today in the New York Times, his time involving a former French Treasury Minister. (see below):

“PARIS — A former French budget minister is going on trial for hiding his wealth in tax havens around the world while, at the same time, being the country's top official in charge of fighting tax evasion.
Jerome Cahuzac is to appear in a Paris court Monday on charges of tax fraud and money laundering that saw him resign in 2013 in one of the biggest political scandals under President Francois Hollande.
The 64-year-old former cosmetic surgeon is accused of concealing at least 687,000 euros ($766,000) in income from tax authorities in 2009-2012. He's also accused of laundering money in 2003-2013 through foreign bank accounts in Switzerland and Singapore and dummy companies in Panama and the Seychelles.
Cahuzac, who acknowledged evading taxes for two decades, faces up to seven years in prison and a 1 million-euro ($1.1 million) fine if convicted.
The fraud helped him finance a lavish lifestyle, such as expensive vacations, court documents show. Investigators discovered that Cahuzac paid bills to one luxury hotel for a total of 127,000 euros ($142,000) for several stays with his ex-wife and their three children.
With the French presidential election eight months away, the trial is sure to revive voters' memories of the scandal that tarnished Hollande's mandate just a few months after the socialist president was elected in 2012. Hollande is widely expected to seek a second term next spring.
On trial Monday alongside Cahuzac are his former wife; a banker; a legal adviser; and bank Reyl, a respectable but little-known Swiss establishment, all accused of money laundering. The trial is expected to last two weeks.
His ex-wife, Patricia Menard, a 60-year-old dermatologist, is accused of hiding 2.5 million euros ($2.8 million) from French tax authorities until 2013 and laundering money in the British tax haven of the Isle of Man and in Switzerland, allowing her to buy two London apartments estimated at around 3 million euros overall.
The Cahuzac couple has already paid 2.3 million euros ($2.6 million) in back taxes to French authorities.”

Full New York Times feature here:

http://www.nytimes.com/…/europe/ap-eu-france-tax-fraud.html…
It is not the first time that the Isle of Man has surfaced as a destination of choice for the money management antics of the French political establishment. We reported a decade and a half ago about arms trading into Africa involving French companies and those highly connected in the French political scene.

It seems the Isle of Man is one of the dodgy destinations of choice for the French!

(See related post)

Image: Jerome Cahuzac

BERNARD MOFFATT
Public Relations Officer Mannin Branch

Issued by: The Mannin branch of the Celtic League.

TEL: 01624 877918 or 07624 491609

05/09/16

THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The Celtic League established in 1961 has branches in the six Celtic Countries including our own Mannin branch. It promotes cooperation between the countries and campaigns on a range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights human rights abuse, military activity and socio-economic issues.