Barcelona player Messi accused of tax evasion

Lionel Messi

A Spanish court has summoned Barcelona player Lionel Messi for questioning as part of an investigation into tax fraud allegations. The court in the town of Gava near Barcelona has accepted a complaint from the Catalonia tax crime prosecutor, Raquel Amada’s that Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio, have defrauded the Spanish tax office of more than €4 million.

“The judge has accepted the complaint presented by the prosecutor against Lionel Messi and Jorge Horacio Messi for three alleged crimes against the tax authorities,” a statement from the Barcelona court said.

The complaint relates to the three tax periods of 2007, 2008 and 2009, the court said. Two weeks ago, the prosecutor’s office said income from the sale of Messi’s image rights was effectively hidden from Spanish authorities via a complex web of shell companies in Uruguay, Belize, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The pair could face up to four years in jail if found guilty, according to Spanish law.

Meanwhile, Barcelona president, Sandro Rosell, says he is convinced that Messi is innocent.

In a statement on his official Facebook page, Messi wrote, ‘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.’

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