Mehmood Bhatti, once known for his rise in France’s ready-to-wear fashion industry, has admitted to tax fraud and aggravated money laundering before the Paris Court of Appeals.
The case has sharply changed the public image of a man long promoted as a Pakistani immigrant success story, philanthropist and fashion entrepreneur.
Bhatti built his reputation around his arrival in France in the mid-1970s at the age of 20.
In his 1999 autobiography and several interviews, he described himself as a self-made entrepreneur who climbed the social ladder through hard work, business skill and persistence.