Barcelona soccer star
Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after a court in
Barcelona found him guilty of three counts of tax fraud, a statement from the
court said this morning (Wednesday).
The 29-year-old,
among the world’s highest-earning athletes, was accused of creating a
string of fake companies in Belize and Uruguay to avoid taxation on €4.16m
(£3.2m) of image rights earnings between 2007 and 2009.
Messi, who
took time out from Argentina’s preparations for the Copa America tournament this summer, said in court last month: “I was playing football; I had no idea about anything. I trusted my dad and my lawyers.”
The Argentinian’s
father Jorge Horacio Messi has also been handed the same punishment.
During the
trial, Messi said he
never suspected any wrongdoing when his father would
ask him to sign contracts or documents relating to his image rights, a
lucrative source of income for any athlete of his calibre.
However, according to
reports, under Spanish law, a jail term of under two years in duration usually
results in a period of probation, meaning the fleet-footed attacker will only
spend time inside if he commits another crime during the next two years meaning
the Barcelona and former Argentina footballer is expected to
avoid serving time in prison.
Messi has also
already made a voluntary payment of £3.8m - back in August 2013 - to cover
unpaid tax and interest. The pair could now appeal their sentences in the
Spanish supreme court.
0 comments:
Post a Comment