French actor Isabelle Adjani gets 2-year suspended prison sentence for tax fraud

Actress Isabelle Adjani is the only person to win five Cesar Awards – the highest film honour in France – for her acting. Photo: AFP

Isabelle Adjani was hit with a two-year suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of tax fraud in a Paris court.

The French actor, known for roles in 1981's Possession and 1975's The Story Of Adele H, was found guilty of moving to Portugal from 2016 to 2017 to skip out on paying €236,000 (RM1.2mil) in taxes, as reported by Variety. She also failed to declare a €120,000 (RM675,578) deposit into a US account and disguised a €2mil (RM10.2mil) donation as a loan.

A suspended sentence means Adjani will not have to go to jail as long as she follows her probation guidelines. Adjani denied the charges through her lawyer and will file an appeal.

"We are dismayed by this ruling," Adjani's lawyer Olivier Pardo told Variety. "Isabelle Adjani couldn't attend the trial, and we had asked to reschedule it so that she could be there to be heard, but they didn't allow it. They're relentlessly going after her."

In an October hearing, the prosecution petitioned for Adjani to get an 18-month sentence. Prosecutors said the actor "systematically tried to pay less income tax between 2013 and 2017 and, instead of legally saving money by adjusting her lifestyle, she chose to illegally save money (by evading) taxes," per Euronews.

Adjani is said to have received the €2mil donation from Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye, who has served as a member of the Senegalese Olympic Committee since 2015. He also happens to be the godfather of Adjani and actor Daniel Day-Lewis' son, Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis.

In October comments to the French news publication L'Obs, the Ishtar star said the money was a genuine loan.

"I was in a financial situation made impossible because of the disastrous and dishonest management of my (production) company, Isia Films, and the abuse I suffered in ... my private life," she said. She also claimed she was on the road to fully repay Diagna Ndiaye.

The 68-year-old actor was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Adele Hugo in The Story of Adele H at the 48th Oscars in 1976. At the time of her nomination, she was the youngest-ever nominee in the best actress category at age 20. She received her second Oscar nomination for playing the titular role in 1988's Camille Claudel.

Adjani is the only person to win five Cesar Awards – the highest film honour in France – for her acting, throughout her more than 50-year career. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service