The court of appeal in French Polynesia has upheld the jail sentences given last year in Tahiti's biggest tax fraud case.
The main accused Thierry Pageau has seen his six-year prison sentence upheld while a former minister Clarenntz Vernaudon been given a three-year prison term of which 18 months are suspended.
Two others have also been given jail terms and fines of up to $US50,000.
They were all convicted of defrauding the authorities with fake transactions to benefit from a French tax refund law.
Between 2005 and 2010, hundreds of the questionable transactions were carried out through an operation run by Pageau, netting about $US20 million in refunds.
In 2011, Pageau spent nine months in prison while the matter was being investigated.
In 2017, he was jailed again for three years for drug dealing and violence against a minor.
