French Court Sentences Former Brazilian Mayor to Three Years in Prison

03/03/2016 - 09h57

A French court sentenced deputy and former São Paulo mayor Paulo Maluf, his wife Sylvia Lutfalla Maluf, and his son Flávio Maluf, to prison for "organized money laundering", the Attorney General's Office reported on Wednesday (2).

In the case of Maluf and his son Flávio, the sentence is for 3 years, meanwhile Sylvia's is for 2.

	Luiz Carlos Murauskas/Folhapress
	Paulo Maluf, sentenced by a French court to prison for "organized money laundering".

The sentence, determined by the 11th Chamber of the Criminal Court of Paris, also called for the maintenance of the international arrest warrant against Maluf and confiscated 1.8 million euros in accounts traced to him. It also includes fines which total 500 thousand euros.

According to the Attorney General's statement, the crime took place between 1996 and 2005 and originated with money diverted from the Brazilian public treasury.

They can still appeal the decision in the French Court of Appeals.

Brazilian Attorney General Rodrigo Janot asked France to transfer the prosecution and the repatriation of the confiscated value to Brazil.

In Brazil, Maluf is the target of two lawsuits in the Supreme Court, accusing him of gang crimes, bribery, tax evasion and money laundering.

In a statement, Maluf's defense in France said that all of the funds have a lawful origin and were declared to the Brazilian authorities. The statement also says that the decision is not final and can be appealed.

Translated by SUGHEY RAMIREZ
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