The leader of the PVV group in the European parliament has been fined €1,530 for voting on behalf of Front National leader Marine le Pen, when she was not in the building.

Voting on behalf of other MEPs is not allowed in the EU parliament. The fraud first came to light in October.

The fine is equivalent to five daily allowances for MEPs. This is a payment which comes on top of their regular salary.

Le Pen told the investigation into the voting fraud she had not given permission for her card to be used. According to some reports De Graaff may have voted on behalf of Le Pen up to 15 times.

The PVV and Front National are part of the same European parliamentary alliance, the Europe of Nations and Freedom group. De Graaff is co-chairman of the grouping, along with Le Pen.

De Graaff hit the headlines at the end of last year for retweeting a message which stated ‘death to Muslims’. He removed it shortly afterwards and apologised.