The former French prime minister Francois Fillon has been found guilty of fraud and given a five-year sentence after using public funds to pay his wife and children more than €1 million (Dh4.1m) since 1998 for work they never performed.
A court in Paris sentenced Fillon, 66, to five years in jail, three of which were suspended although he remains free pending an appeal. The former presidential candidate was given a €375,000 fine and banned from seeking office for 10 years.
Fillon was accused of misuse of public funds, receiving money from the misuse of public funds and the misappropriation of company assets.
His 64-year-old wife, Penelope, was found guilty as an accomplice, given a three-year suspended sentence and also fined €375,000.
In addition, the couple was requested to reimburse the National Assembly more than €1m that correspond to the salaries and payroll charges that were paid. They had denied any wrongdoing.
The convictions mark a devastating fall from grace for a man who was seen as the front-runner in the country’s 2017 race to be president before the scandal broke only three months before the election. He fell to third place and was leapfrogged by Emmanuel Macron, the current president.
Fillon served as prime minister under president Nicolas Sarkozy from 2007 to 2012. He was also a minister under two previous presidents, Francois Mitterand and Jacques Chirac.
The Paris court considered that Fillon “elaborated and established an organisation enabling him to misappropriate money for his personal use”.
The court said that “nothing concrete has been proven in court regarding the work of Mrs Fillon”.
“She did not have any professional activity alongside her husband," the court added. “Nothing justifies the paid salaries."
Fillon’s lawyer vowed to overturn the verdict. “There will be a new trial . We will be able to get a full and serene debate that will finally allow justice to be made,” Antonin Levy told reporters.
During the trial prosecutors pointed at the lack of evidence of Mrs Fillon’s work, including the absence of declarations for any paid vacations or maternity leave, as her wages reached up to nine times France’s minimum salary.
She described her work as mostly doing reports about local issues, opening the mail, meeting with residents and helping to prepare speeches for local events. She said working that way allowed her to have a flexible schedule and raise their five children in the Fillons’ countryside manor.
The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali
Price, base: Dh306,500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 621Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.9L / 100km
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
RESULTS
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $49,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner RB Frynchh Dude, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.05pm Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $50,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner El Patriota, Vagner Leal, Antonio Cintra
7.40pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,000m
Winner Ya Hayati, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby
8.15pm Cape Verdi – Group 2 (TB) $163,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Althiqa, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Soft Whisper, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
9.25pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Bedouin’s Story, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Spec%20sheet
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Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
