On Thursday, the public prosecutor's office requested a suspended sentence of 18 to 24 months' imprisonment with probation for Isabelle Adjani before the Paris Court of Appeal, along with a €250,000 fine to be enforced immediately. The actress, being retried for aggravated tax fraud and money laundering, continues to deny having deliberately committed the fraud.
The prosecution is taking a tougher stance
At the hearing, Advocate General Laurent Couderc requested confirmation of the initial ruling, arguing that Isabelle Adjani's presence at her appeal trial had not altered the legal analysis of the case. The prosecution maintains that the actress's explanations do not negate either the facts of the case or their criminal implications.
The prosecution's demands are severe: a sentence of between 18 and 24 months' imprisonment with probation, a €250,000 fine with immediate enforcement, and a two-year ban from holding public office. At this stage, however, this is not yet the court's decision, but rather the prosecution's requests. The verdict has been deferred until July 1, 2026.
"I am not a thief." Isabelle Adjani's line of defense
The day before the prosecution's closing arguments, Isabelle Adjani presented herself as the victim of negligent advisors and..."A series of scams", rejecting any organized attempt to evade taxes. In court, the actress explained that she had never filled out her own tax returns, even going so far as to say that she had "Paper phobia."
Her defense rests on a simple idea: the alleged irregularities were less the result of a fraudulent strategy than of mismanagement of her personal and financial affairs. Her lawyer, David Lepidi, argued for acquittal, denouncing the lack of empathy from the prosecution and contesting the fraudulent intent attributed to his client.
A residence in Portugal, a disputed loan, a transfer via the United States
The case being examined on appeal reiterates the three aspects already considered in the first instance. The court accuses Isabelle Adjani of having fictitiously established her residence in Portugal in 2016 and 2017, which allegedly allowed her to evade 236,000 euros in income tax.
The second part of the prosecution's case concerns a sum of 2 million euros paid in 2013 by businessman Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye. Declared as a loan, this sum was considered by the court to be a disguised donation, resulting in an estimated 1,2 million euro fraud in transfer taxes.
Finally, the actress was also convicted of money laundering after €119,000 was transferred to Portugal via an undeclared US account. The trial judges concluded that this transaction could only be explained by a deliberate attempt to conceal the origin and destination of the funds.
A high-stakes appeal trial
Already sentenced in December 2023 to two years' suspended imprisonment and a €250,000 fine, Isabelle Adjani had appealed the decision. Unlike her first trial, which she missed, she appeared this time before the Paris Court of Appeal to defend her version of events.
The case originated in an investigation opened in 2016 following the Panama Papers revelations. While this specific aspect did not lead to prosecution, the investigations uncovered other tax-related suspicions, which in turn led to the current proceedings. On July 1st, the court will decide whether to uphold or overturn the conviction handed down in the first instance.
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