A Court in France yesterday sentenced 20 out of 21 LTTE members accused of extorting millions of Euros from the Tamil community in France, to prison, agency reports said.

Leader of the group Nadaraja Matinthiran has been sentenced to 7 years in prison for extorting US$7.4 million (5 million Euros) as ‘taxes’ from the Tamil community living in Paris and surrounding areas to finance the LTTE terrorist activities in Sri Lanka.

The other 19 defendants were sentenced to six year or less while one was acquitted.

The court also ordered that the Coordinating Committee of Tamils-France be dismantled after ruling that it was a front for the LTTE.

Most of the suspects were arrested in April 2007 and charged with criminal conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism, financing of terrorism or racketeering to finance terrorism.

French prosecutors said the Tigers imposed a "revolutionary tax" on the Tamil immigrants to France most of whom were political refugees living in Paris and neighboring areas.

A Jane’s Intelligence Review report in August 2007 said the LTTE’s profit margin was some US$ 200 to 300 million per year.