Boss of faulty breast implant company gets four years

A TYCOON who made millions selling leaky breast implants filled with

Jean-Claude Mas was sentenced to fours years in prison and fined £62,000 [GETTY]

But Jean-Claude Mas walked free after lodging an appeal, meaning thousands of affected women now have to wait to discover if they will receive damages.

The 74-year-old meat and cognac salesman was convicted of fraud by a court in Marseille, France.

He was also fined £62,000. His company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) was shut down and its products banned in 2010.

A German testing firm previously held liable to pay out was yesterday told it is also a victim of PIP.

Around 400,000 women worldwide received the rupture-prone implants, 47,000 of them in Britain.

Damages could run to millions. But it could be years before it is paid and there is no guarantee it will ever be. Many women need faulty implants removing.

Disappointed British victim Jan Spivey said after the hearing: “I thought he would be taken away.”