Acclaimed French actress Isabelle Adjani has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence and fined €250,000 after being found guilty of aggravated tax fraud and money laundering by a Paris court on Thursday (December 14).
Adjani’s lawyer Olivier Pardo confirmed to Screen late Thursday that her defence team had officially filed an appeal that is now making its way through the Paris courts.
Adjani has consistently maintained her innocence in the face of charges that include evading taxes on a €2m gift by presenting it as a loan, and also of having pretended to live in Portugal for two years, rather than at her actual home in France.
The five-time Cesar award winner’s punishment is even more harsh than prosecutors had initially requested, namely an 18-month prison sentence and the fine. The stricter sentencing comes after Adjani failed to show up at her October. 19 trial hearing in Paris, citing medical reasons that prevented her from returning from a trip to New York at the time.
“Isabelle Adjani, who has always maintained her innocence, wasn’t able to make her case heard,” Pardo told Screen of the Paris court’s refusal to allow her to reschedule her appearance. “They said she is not above the law, which is true, but she is not under the law either,” he added.
Following the sentencing at the trial, the lead judge said: “While [Adjani] may be an undeniably talented actress, she nevertheless remains subject to taxes.”
The star of films including La Reine Margot star’s name first appeared in the leaked ’Panama Papers” of 2016 that exposed offshore bank accounts and shell companies launched to conceal wealth or avoid taxes.
Adjani was nominated for Academy Awards for Francois Truffaut’s 1975 historial drama The Story of Adele H. then Bruno Nuytten’s Camille Claudel opposite Gerard Depardieu who just made headlines himself following the airing of a compromising France 2 documentary and accusations of sexual assault. His own tax arrangements have stirred controversy in France in recent years. Adjani and Depardieu just recently starred together in 2022 historical series The King’s Favorite.
Adjani has most recently starred in Francois Ozon’s Peter Von Kant, that screened at Berlin in 2022. Nicolas Bedos’ Mascarade (Cannes 2022), Josée Dayan’s 2023 feature Adieu Vinyle. Most recently she co-stars in Melanie Laurent’s female-driven action thriller Wingwomen for Netflix.
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