Four-time FIFA footballer of the year Lionel
Messi and his father Jorge arrived in a Spanish court this morning Friday
September 27th to answer charges of alleged tax fraud. Messi and his father are
being accused of hiding over £3.4 million by filing incomplete tax returns from
2006 to 2009.
The charges against father and son was lodged by a state prosecutor in June 2013 claiming that they tried to conceal earnings from Messi's image rights - charges they both deny.
The charges against father and son was lodged by a state prosecutor in June 2013 claiming that they tried to conceal earnings from Messi's image rights - charges they both deny.
"I never take care of that (tax) stuff myself and neither
does my father," Messi said in July. "We have our lawyers and our
wealth managers to take care of that and we trust them and they will sort this
out. The truth is I don’t have a clue about all this and that is why we have people
taking care of it."
Messi has already paid the Spanish
authorities the unpaid tax he's owing plus interest (he paid £4.2m) but because
tax fraud is a serious offense in Spain, he still has to make an appearance in
court where the courts will determine whether the case is pursued any further.
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