A Paris court has handed a suspended prison sentence to a cosmetic surgeon after a billionaire diamond dealer died during a penis enlargement procedure at a private clinic in the French capital.

Belgian-Israeli businessman Ehud Arye Laniado, 65, collapsed in December 2019 while receiving cosmetic injections and later died of a heart attack, triggering a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the procedure.

French prosecutors initially considered possible manslaughter but later narrowed the case to charges including failure to assist a person in danger, drug-related offences, and practising medicine without proper authorisation.

Investigators said Laniado had been using erectile dysfunction drugs and other banned substances prior to the procedure — factors prosecutors believe may have increased the risk of a cardiac event.

The surgeon, identified in court documents only as Guy H, was known for providing expensive cosmetic treatments to wealthy international clients. The court sentenced him to 15 months in prison, suspended, imposed a permanent ban from practising medicine, and fined him €50,000. His medical licence has also been suspended.

An assistant surgeon involved in the case received a 12-month suspended sentence and was fined €20,000, according to the ruling.

Judges said the cosmetic procedure itself was not proven to be the direct cause of death but concluded that serious failures in medical supervision and emergency response justified criminal sanctions.

Laniado, often referred to as the “King of Diamonds,” made his fortune in the global diamond trade and lived between Monaco and Belgium.