Ex-model Auermann fined for tax evasion: German court

BERLIN - A court fined German former supermodel Nadja Auermann 90,000 euros ($118,600) for tax evasion Tuesday over a villa she owned in Berlin.

Auermann waits before her trial verdict at a Berlin financial court on December 13 (AFP/DPA, Hannibal Hanschke)

The willowy platinum blonde, best known from 1990s Versace campaigns, lived in the house she owned in the eastern district of Koepenick between 1999 and 2002 but failed to pay around 267,000 euros in taxes on it, the court ruled.

"We are convinced that your primary residence was in Germany," Judge Juergen Kohls said.

Auermann, wearing a beige crepe sweater and matching scarf, said after the hearing that she would appeal the ruling.

"I am not satisfied," Auermann told reporters.

Following the appeal, tax authorities will determine how much Auermann needs to repay including back taxes and interest.

The 40-year-old Berlin native had denied the charges throughout the trial, saying she had only established her primary residence in Germany again in 2002 after years in which she spent most of her time travelling for work.

She had told the judges that the home was only an investment.

The court heard dozens of witnesses with links to Auermann during the trial which started in May including her children's pediatrician and her tax advisor.