Stunning news coming out of Spain today as Spanish Prosecutors have lodged a €4 million Euro case against the superstar Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi alledging that he, and his father Jorge Horacio Messi, have conspired to commit tax fraud.
The case was started by a prosecutor in the Region of Catalonia.
The complaint is signed by prosecutor Raquel Amado and has asked the court in Gava, the district of Barcelona where the striker lives, asking the court for permission to bring the lawsuit against Messi. This is due to the Spanish law which requires the courts permission before the prosecutor can press charges.
Lionel Messi and his father Jorge Horacio Messi, are accused of three offences each, and of defrauding more than 4 million euros on income tax returns relating to the years 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Messi released the following statement via facebook:
“We have just known through the media about the claim filed by the Spanish tax authorities. We are surprised about those [sic] news, because we have never committed any infringement. We have always fulfilled all our tax obligations, following the advices of our tax consultants who will take care of clarifying this situation.”
Messi is one of the best, and most high profile footy stars in the world. Messi is reported to be earning €16 million Euros from Barcelona in 2013, and that is before his various endorsements, and other activities.
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