French court convicts former PM and his wife

A Paris court has found French former prime minister Francois Fillon guilty of having used public funds to pay his wife and children for work they never performed, Report says, citing Izvestia.

His wife, Penelope Fillon, has also been found guilty as an accomplice.

F. Fillon was sentenced to five years in prison, with three years suspended, while P. Fillon to a three-year suspended sentence. The court fined each €375,000 as well.

The work had brought the family more than 1 million euros since 1998.

The scandal broke in the French media just three months before the country's 2017 presidential election, as Fillon was the front-runner in the race. It cost him his reputation. Fillon sank to third place in the election, which was won by Emmanuel Macron.

Fillon, who was France's prime minister from 2007 to 2012, and his wife have denied any wrongdoing and can appeal the decision.