A SPANISH COURT has sentenced Barcelona’s star striker Lionel Messi and his father to 21 months in jail for tax fraud and slapped them with a fine of €3.7 million.
But these prison sentences are likely to be suspended as is common in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years.
The Barcelona court found the Argentina international and his father Jorge Horacio Messi guilty of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying taxes on €4.16m of Messi’s income earned from his image rights from 2007-09.
The income related to Messi’s image rights that was allegedly hidden includes endorsement deals with Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter & Gamble or the Kuwait Food Company.
Messi, 29, a five time FIFA World Player winner, was fined €2.09m euros while his father was fined €1.6m.
Advertisement
They can appeal the decision to Spain’s Supreme Court.
Both Messi and his father, who has managed his son’s affairs since he was a child, were charged with three counts of tax fraud.
Messi told the court during the four-day trial that wrapped up on 4 June that he trusted his father with his finances and “knew nothing” about how his wealth was managed.
AP / Press Association Images
AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images
Prosecutors had asked for Messi to be absolved, arguing there was no evidence that the player was aware of how his income was managed.
But the state attorney representing tax authorities in the trial, Mario Maza, said he found it unlikely that Messi knew nothing about the situation.
“There is no deliberate ignorance here, it’s fraud and that’s all there is to it, because he didn’t want to pay his taxes,” he said.
It’s like a crime boss. At the very top is the bigwig who doesn’t want to know about the details.”
Messi and his father made a voluntary payment of €5m — equal to the amount of the alleged unpaid taxes plus interest — in August 2013 after being formally investigated.
Lionel Messi and his father handed 21-month suspended sentence for tax fraud
A SPANISH COURT has sentenced Barcelona’s star striker Lionel Messi and his father to 21 months in jail for tax fraud and slapped them with a fine of €3.7 million.
But these prison sentences are likely to be suspended as is common in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years.
The Barcelona court found the Argentina international and his father Jorge Horacio Messi guilty of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying taxes on €4.16m of Messi’s income earned from his image rights from 2007-09.
The income related to Messi’s image rights that was allegedly hidden includes endorsement deals with Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter & Gamble or the Kuwait Food Company.
Messi, 29, a five time FIFA World Player winner, was fined €2.09m euros while his father was fined €1.6m.
They can appeal the decision to Spain’s Supreme Court.
Both Messi and his father, who has managed his son’s affairs since he was a child, were charged with three counts of tax fraud.
Messi told the court during the four-day trial that wrapped up on 4 June that he trusted his father with his finances and “knew nothing” about how his wealth was managed.
Prosecutors had asked for Messi to be absolved, arguing there was no evidence that the player was aware of how his income was managed.
But the state attorney representing tax authorities in the trial, Mario Maza, said he found it unlikely that Messi knew nothing about the situation.
“There is no deliberate ignorance here, it’s fraud and that’s all there is to it, because he didn’t want to pay his taxes,” he said.
Messi and his father made a voluntary payment of €5m — equal to the amount of the alleged unpaid taxes plus interest — in August 2013 after being formally investigated.
- © AFP, 2016
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
They meet tomorrow night, but 1982 remains the ‘scar’ on Franco-German football relations
Oscar Pistorius sentenced to 6 years in prison for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
La Liga In trouble Lionel Messi Spanish Court Tax fraud Argentina Barcelona