Businessman Paddy McKillen has been convicted of attacking a bailiff in his Paris apartment.
The 70-year-old property developer was not in court in the French capital as the judgment was handed down against him.
He was fined €10,000 for “violence against public official” Anna Cohen-Bacri, 33, and ordered to pay €1,500 in damages and costs.
Judge Fanny Huboux, sitting in the Paris Correctional Court, said that Belfast-born McKillen was “guilty as charged”.
She rejected prosecution calls for an eight-month suspended prison sentence.
In turn, defence lawyers launched an immediate appeal, saying in a statement: “Mr McKillen strongly denies the accusations against him” and described them as being “based on outright lies”.
The lawyers added that “a shocked and distressed” McKillen was “on a plane somewhere” but would travel to Paris for any future proceedings.
They also indicated that they would be launching a complaint against Ms Cohen-Bacri for “breach of professional ethics”.
She gave evidence against McKillen during a one-day trial in January, telling the court how she was set upon by the businessman on 25 June last year after he returned from a business trip to Japan.
Ms Cohen-Bacri said he flew into a rage after she legally entered the property in Place Vendôme, with the aid of a locksmith.
She was acting in relation to the alleged non-payment of a loan to Qatari-linked Quintet private bank, it was alleged.
Mr McKillen found her “inside his home with the door ajar”, said Ms Cohen-Bacri.
He then repeatedly screamed: ‘F***ing bailiff! and ‘F*** you, bailiff!’ in English, she added.
Ms Cohen-Bacri said she was scared and phoned police, who arrived within minutes.
“Mr McKillen knew a bailiff was present but became extremely aggressive.
“He tried to stop me doing my job, and was physically and verbally violent. He was truly aggressive. I’m very small and was very scared.
“He put his hand up menacingly, and then began to swear repeatedly. He was insulting me the whole time, and then become even more violent,” Ms Cohen-Bacri said.
A total of four witness were present, she added, including the locksmith.
Neither Ms Cohen-Bacri nor her lawyer, Marine Ruta, commented on the verdict.
McKillen’s appeal is likely to be heard in the autumn.
