Messi faces up to six years’ jail for tax fraud Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi

THE world’s greatest footballer is being investigated by Spanish authorities for allegedly defrauding the country of more than €4 million in unpaid taxes. Lionel Messi and his father, Jorge, are suspected of filing fraudulent tax returns between 2006 and 2009. The Guardian reports that a source at Spain’s EFE news agency quoted a Spanish tax investigator saying: “The initiative to commit fraud came from his father.”
At the time the alleged fraudulent activity began, Messi was only 18. He has since risen to become the greatest player of his generation, Barcelona’s most prolific goalscorer in their history and the winner of four consecutive Fifa Player of the Year awards.

The Guardian says that tax crime prosecutors in the eastern region of Catalonia allege a “complex network of companies based in Britain, Switzerland, Belize and Uruguay” were used to conceal the true extent of Messi’s earnings from the Spanish tax authorities. In particular, the alleged evasion concerned the sale of rights to use the player’s image.

Chief prosecutor Raquel Amado has lodged a writ at a court in Gava, the affluent seaside suburb outside Barcelona where Messi resides.
The BBC says “judges at the courthouse must accept the complaint before the suspects can be charged”. If the Argentine ace is charged, however, and convicted of defrauding the state, he “could face up to six years in prison and a large fine”.

The fine wouldn’t worry Messi. Last week he was ranked tenth on the annual Forbes list  of the world’s richest athletes, earning $41.3 last year, of which $20m came from endorsements. Earlier this year he signed a new contract with Barcelona, allegedly for around £8.5m a year.

Though Barcelona refused to comment on the matter, Messi released a statement on his Facebook page, in which he said: “We have just known through the media about the claim filed by the Spanish tax authorities. We are surprised about the news, because we have never committed any infringement. We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations, following the advice of our tax consultants, who will take care of clarifying this situation.”

According to Tom Burridge, the BBC correspondent in Madrid, the Spanish government has recently launched a crackdown on tax fraud in the light of the country’s economic problems.

Messi is just one of a number of wealthy people being investigated and the BBC speculates that it could be a while before the Barcelona striker learns whether he will be charged with any crime because the Spanish legal system moves slowly.

Nonetheless, says the BBC, “the scandal raises difficult questions, and the image of Lionel Messi could be damaged”. — Daily Mail

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