Gérald Gérin, a close associate of the late Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the Front National, was sentenced to two years of suspended imprisonment by the Paris correctional court on Tuesday, January 21. Gérin, aged 51, was found guilty of tax fraud, aggravated tax fraud, and money laundering.

The penalty exceeds the 18-month suspended sentence initially recommended by the prosecution, which also sought a 230,000 euro fine—10% of the undeclared assets.

However, he avoided this fine due to his financial circumstances.

The court also ordered the confiscation of approximately 2 million euros, identified as the proceeds of the offense.

Gérin has a 10-day window to appeal the ruling.

The case is the first judgment concerning the hidden gold bars allegedly connected to Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Gérin, suspected of acting as a front to conceal these assets, has been a longstanding collaborator of Le Pen, fulfilling roles such as butler, parliamentary assistant in Brussels, community manager, and treasurer for two of Le Pen's micro-parties, Cotelec and Promelec.

The court found Gérin guilty of concealing a British Virgin Islands trust managed in Geneva, which held assets worth 2.2 million euros from 2008 to 2015.