Released for tax fraud and laundering of tax fraud, the former French football international Djibril Cissé was sentenced this Wednesday in Bastia (Haute-Corse) to eight months suspended prison sentence and a 20,000 euro fine for misuse of property social security and omission of accounting entries. The Bastia criminal court also handed down an additional sentence of deprivation of the right to stand for election for three years.
A sentence lower than the requisitions
During the September 11 hearing, where the former player was not present, the Bastia prosecutor Jean-Philippe Navarre requested a one-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of 100,000 euros against the former player who was suspected in particular of laundering tax fraud, misuse of corporate assets and omission of accounting entries. The prosecutor had requested the acquittal for acts of tax fraud initially targeted by the prosecution.
A single-member simplified joint stock company (SASU) of the former Sporting Club de Bastia striker, domiciled in Furiani (Haute-Corse), was in the sights of justice. While the company was placed in compulsory liquidation in 2020, the associated current account remained in debt of 550,000 euros, which constituted, according to the prosecution, abuse of corporate assets.
The investigation considered that he had not declared this sum to the tax administration, which was the basis for the prosecution for laundering tax fraud: “He transferred money to his bank accounts,” the prosecutor argued. The investigation also reported a tax debt of 230,000 euros for failure to declare VAT and corporate tax.
For the defense lawyer, Mr.e Malcolm Mouldaïa, the micro-enterprise was used to manage income linked to the image of Djibril Cissé, at the time of his reconversion as a DJ and football consultant for television.
“I always said that I had not defrauded the tax authorities”
“He has been going through this for years. He had difficulties with the accounting firm which did not manage the file well and did not inform him,” argued Mr.e Mouldaïa by pleading for the release of his client for the majority of the facts. “I have always said that I had not defrauded the tax authorities and the courts proved me right,” Djibril Cissé said this Wednesday.
“We have taken the accounting firm before the Nanterre commercial court for lack of information and contractual breach and we demand that it pay all the sums which were paid by Mr. Cissé with regard to his tax audits,” specified his lawyer, Me Malcolm Mouldaïa, adding that there would be no appeal of the Bastia judgment.
