Tax evasion charges against Leo Messi are dropped
Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:
The Barcelona Public Prosecutor on Tuesday dropped charges of tax evasion against FC Barcelona striker Leo Messi.
Messi had been facing the charges, along with his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, in regards to his image rights for the years 2007,2008 and 2009.
The footballer will not now have to face trail, but his father will have to face charges for the evasion of 4 million euros (4.4 million US dollars), for which the Prosecutor has asked for a sentence of one and a half years in prison.
The Prosecutor based his decision on the fact that Messi's affairs had been handled by his father, who "had control of tax obligations" and that "it is beyond credit to believe that this lack of knowledge was intentionally designed with the aim of defrauding the Treasury."
This more or less backs up the argument Messi had used in his defense: that he played football and too little interest in the details of his economic affairs, which were left to his father. Endit