Paris (AFP)
The new application for release of Patrick Balkany, the justice has kept in prison pending trial on appeal for money laundering tax evasion, will be examined next Monday, was learned Tuesday from judicial source.
The request of the mayor LR of Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine), held in the prison of the Health, will be examined at 13H30 by the Court of Appeal of Paris.
This hearing will be held in the presence of the new lawyer of the elected, Romain Dieudonné, Patrick Balkany having separated this week from his advice Eric Dupond-Moretti and Antoine Vey.
The decision should be taken under advisement.
In mid-November, the Court of Appeal rejected a first application for release of Patrick Balkany, linked to his sentencing to five years in prison for aggravated money laundering with immediate imprisonment on October 18, notably on the grounds of avoiding a "concertation between the implicated "in this case, involving relatives of the city and a billionaire Saudi.
Patrick Balkany, 71, has been imprisoned since September 13, the date of his first conviction, to four years in prison, for tax evasion.
His wife and first assistant Isabelle was also sentenced in these cases, to three years in prison for fraud and four years for money laundering, but without a deposit warrant in view of his fragile health.
The Balkany immediately appealed: they will be retried from 11 to 18 December for tax evasion and from 3 to 19 February 2020 for money laundering.
In the tax fraud, the mayor of Levallois was granted a first application for release, accompanied by heavy obligations including the payment of a deposit of 500,000 euros, which he struggles to meet.
The hearing on 2 December is also expected to review an appeal by Patrick Balkany seeking an "amendment to the judicial review" granted to him. The elected representative wishes to see the amount of the deposit lowered or the possibility of paying it in several installments.
While the court ordered the seizure of property and assets of the couple, including their mill in Giverny (Eure), Patrick Balkany has complained repeatedly "no longer a round" and his wife explained that he could no longer afford the advice of Me Dupond-Moretti.
© 2019 AFP