During the hearing which took place behind closed doors within the prison on May 19, the prosecution opposed this release, considering that Mr. Balkany “still expresses his opposition to the principle of his conviction, in despite its final nature, which does not bode well for compliance with the requested sentence adjustment measure”.
According to the prosecution, the former elected LR “only justifies, at most, the payment of a total sum of around 7,000 euros, since February 2022, while the tax debt for which he is responsible for repairing amounts to more than four million euros”.
Patrick Balkany, 73, was taken into custody on February 7. After spending five months in detention for tax evasion, then being released on an electronic bracelet for health reasons, he returned to prison due to numerous breaches of his obligations, according to justice.
The placement under electronic bracelet of his wife Isabelle, still hospitalized since her suicide attempt in February, had also been revoked.
The Balkany spouses had been found guilty of not having paid wealth tax between 2010 and 2015 and of having paid a grossly undervalued income tax between 2009 and 2014, for an estimated total of 4 million euros. euros of sums evaded.
A few weeks after his imprisonment, the former LR mayor of Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine) filed a request for parole through his lawyers in early April.
On this request, the prison integration and probation service (Spip) issued an unfavorable opinion, while the prison administration gave a favorable opinion on his sentence adjustment.
Contacted by AFP, his lawyers, Romain Dieudonné and Robin Binsard, declined to comment before Monday’s decision. “Our client has already served twenty months in prison. He is 73 years old and wants to take advantage of the time he has left with his family,” he said when the application was filed.
The end of Patrick Balkany’s sentence is set for April 21, 2023.
