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Barcelona's Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi (left) sits in court with his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, during their trial for tax fraud in Barcelona, Spain. Picture: REUTERS/ALBERTO ESTEVEZ
BARCELONA — Barcelona striker Lionel Messi and his father are likely to have their 21-month jail sentence for tax fraud suspended. In Spain, where the taxman has set his sights on footballers, first offences for nonviolent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years are mostly suspended.
The Barcelona court found the Argentinian 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 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 while his father was fined €1.6m. They can appeal against 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 June 4 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. "It’s like a crime boss. At the very top is the bigwig who doesn’t want to know about the details."
The court agreed, arguing in its ruling that Messi "had decided to remain in ignorance".
"Despite all the opportunities available to the player to show interest in how his rights were managed, he did not," the court 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.
After the court delivered its verdict, Barcelona issued a statement "giving all its support to Leo Messi and his father".
"The club, in agreement with the government prosecution service, considers that the player, who has corrected his position with the Spanish tax office, is in no way criminally responsible with regards to the facts underlined in this case," it added.
Messi is Barca’s all-time leading goal scorer. During his time with the club, they won the European Champions League on four occasions and eight Spanish league titles.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Messi unlikely to serve jail time for tax fraud
BARCELONA — Barcelona striker Lionel Messi and his father are likely to have their 21-month jail sentence for tax fraud suspended. In Spain, where the taxman has set his sights on footballers, first offences for nonviolent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years are mostly suspended.
The Barcelona court found the Argentinian 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 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 while his father was fined €1.6m. They can appeal against 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 June 4 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. "It’s like a crime boss. At the very top is the bigwig who doesn’t want to know about the details."
The court agreed, arguing in its ruling that Messi "had decided to remain in ignorance".
"Despite all the opportunities available to the player to show interest in how his rights were managed, he did not," the court 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.
After the court delivered its verdict, Barcelona issued a statement "giving all its support to Leo Messi and his father".
"The club, in agreement with the government prosecution service, considers that the player, who has corrected his position with the Spanish tax office, is in no way criminally responsible with regards to the facts underlined in this case," it added.
Messi is Barca’s all-time leading goal scorer. During his time with the club, they won the European Champions League on four occasions and eight Spanish league titles.
AFP
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