Lionel Messi to appear in court over tax fraud allegations

Barcelona football star Lionel Messi (R) and his brother Rodrigo arrive to the courhouse in the coastal town of Gava near Barcelona on September 27, 2013

Barcelona star Lionel Messi and his father Jorge Messi have been asked to appear in court over allegations of evading £3.4 million in image rights.

They are suspected of off-shoring the money in companies set up in Uruguay and Belize to avoid paying tax in Spain. They have denied the allegations, saying that the deals were carried out by Messi’s former agent unbeknownst to him.

The duo will be questioned in a closed session in a court in Gava, which is also the neighbourhood in which Messi has his home.

The Friday hearing will conclude with the court determining if they will be pursued further for evading tax.

A sum of £5 million has already been paid by Messi to the Spanish state with regard to the matter.

Despite paying a sum of £5 million to the Spanish state to mitigate the matter, the Argentinian star has been unable to prevent prosecution.

Messi was earlier quoted as saying: “We have always fulfilled our tax obligations following the advice of our tax consultants who will take care of clarifying this situation.”

Source: Skysports