Argentine professional footballer Lionel Messi, who plays as
a forward for Spanish club Barcelona, has been convicted and sentenced to 21
months in jail for tax fraud. A Barcelona court ruled that
between 2000 and
2009, Messi was guilty of tax fraud and that for each of those three years he
should serve a sentence of seven months.
During the trial, Lionel Messi insisted he "knew
nothing" about the management of his financial affairs, saying his father
dealt with them while he was "playing football". However, because
this was the first time the Barcelona forward had committed an offense and his
sentence was less than two years, the 29-year-old Messi won't serve jail time
as long as he doesn't break the law again.
Messi was however fined $2.3 million for fraud offenses
while his father, Jorge was also handed a 21-month jail sentence and a $1.7
million for tax fraud, since he had a criminal record.
After the court delivered its verdict, Barcelona issued a
statement "giving all its support to Leo Messi and his father."
The statement reads: "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.
"FC Barcelona continues to be at the disposal of Leo
Messi and his family to support him in whatever action he decides to take in
defense of his honesty and his legal interests."
No comments:
Post a Comment