Madrid.
Like father like son: A court has sentenced to 21 months in prison Messi and his father. They have already filed an appeal.
No mercy for Lionel Messi. Also all dribbling the strikers before the District Court in Barcelona did not help. The three judges convicted the world footballer of FC Barcelona to 21 months in prison for multi-million dollar tax fraud. Messi’s father and manager Jorge Horacio Messi was sentenced at the same punishment.
In order for the Spanish Tribunal made clear that popular athletes can not count on leniency if they shirk the tax numbers and thus harm the public. In Spain, where tax fraud and undeclared work are widespread in the population, the judges are setting an important sign.
father and son put an appeal
On Wednesday evening laid a father and son appeal against the verdict. In a statement to several Spanish media their lawyers called the verdict of the District Court in Barcelona on Wednesday as “not correct”. They would therefore appeal Spain appeal to the Supreme Court and was confident that there would be for both clients at the end of an acquittal.
The lawyers Enrique Bacigalupo and Javier Sánchez-Vera stressed Messi have the Treasury repaid all amounts claimed. Why was the “stubbornness” of the tax authorities to maintain the charges against the player and his father, “do not understand”. The Messis were “exemplary citizens”. Lionel Messi proves the constantly as a public figure, “both on the football field and outside the stadiums,” it said.
In prison the Messis are not expected to have. Imprisonment up to 24 months are usually exposed in the Spanish Kingdom on probation, to the extent that the condemned could previously not be guilty. Messi junior and senior can therefore hope to get away with a black eye.
The last word, however, is apparently not yet been spoken. Son and father Messi will probably appeal the conviction. Then the dispute is likely to drag on for a little longer.
football player with a role model
The judiciary is to bomb an opposition in Spain, where the courts are hopelessly overloaded and extremely slow, an often successful means to shirk a penalty. Not infrequently, the bill goes on and sinners come after years of litigation actually unscathed.
But after all, made the district court in the first instance judgment realized it the protestations of innocence Messi did not believe. This is likely to tarnish the global fame of the Argentine dribbling king with Spanish passport. Superstars of the caliber Messis who are idolized by millions of fans, have a role model – but by way of example, the control tricks were not.
Just because of Messi’s position as a sports idol should the penalty be an example, said the judges. Namely, “so as not to send the message to the citizens that it is preferable to look away, instead of worrying about something.”
Messi gave himself ignorant
Leo Messi had stated in court, to have been unaware, “I knew nothing about it.” And: ” I’ve never cared about money. That makes my dad. I dedicate myself just football. “Father Messi had meanwhile stated that it has on the tax law” fed pushed no idea “and the ball of responsibility his former accountant.
The two Messis had been criticized for not taxed 2007-2009 around ten million euros revenue from advertising rights. Approximately 4.1 million euros have escaped Spain exchequer characterized. According to the investigation the money had flowed through a network of front companies and offshore accounts, for example, in Uruguay, Belize, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
In addition to the prison sentence of 21 months the two also have to pay aggregated 3.5 million euro fine. Five million euros, the evaded tax amount, including interest, they had already stored.
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