Cristiano Ronaldo accused of evading $16.5 million in taxes
- hace 7 años
Madrid, Jun 13 (EFE).- A Spanish prosecutor's office on Tuesday filed a complaint against Portuguese soccer mega-star Cristiano Ronaldo for alleged tax fraud.
In the indictment, Madrid's regional prosecutor accused the famous Real Madrid forward of evading some 14.7 million euros ($16.5 million) in taxes between 2011-14.
It added that Ronaldo had done so "in a conscious and voluntary manner."
The player allegedly failed to pay 1.39 million euros in taxes during the 2011 fiscal year; 1.66 million in 2012, 3.2 million in 2013 and 8.5 million in 2014.
The prosecution said Ronaldo had taken advantage of a corporate structure created in 2010 that served to conceal the iconic player's income derived from his image rights.
It cited as precedent the recent verdict by Spain's Supreme Court that confirmed the 21-month prison sentence imposed on FC Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi for tax fraud.
Messi was found guilty of evading some 4.1 million euros in taxes, also in relation to the exploitation of his image rights.
The prosecution's complaint is set to be reviewed by the courts, which will decide the penal consequences, if any, that Ronaldo could face.
According to the complaint, after signing his contract with Real Madrid in 2008, Ronaldo "simulated" ceding his image rights to a shell company based in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven in the Caribbean.
Ronaldo was listed as the sole member of the company, Tollin Associates LTD.
Tollin ceded the exploitation rights to Ronaldo's image to another company in Ireland, Multisports & Image Management LTD, which actually managed the soccer icon's image while Tollin apparently remained inactive and was kept dormant.
The prosecution said that ceding the rights at first to Tollin was "completely unnecessary," unless the intent was to set up a shell company as a vehicle to defraud taxes.
It added that Ronaldo declared in his tax returns a domestic-source income of 11.5 million euros between 2011-14 when, in reality, it amounted to nearly 43 million euros.
Ronaldo also allegedly described some of his income as returns on property investment instead of earnings from economic activities, which allowed him to considerably reduce his taxable base.
While Ronaldo's net assets are unknown, most sources estimate his wealth to be at least somewhere between 230-290 million euros.
According to Forbes, he was the best-paid sports figure in 2016, when he saw an income of some $88 million.
That year, he also inked a lifetime deal with apparel giant Nike worth upward of $1 billion.
SHOT LIST: FILE FOOTAGE
Keywords: efe,real madrid,cristiano ronaldo,,fraud,tax,football,soccer
In the indictment, Madrid's regional prosecutor accused the famous Real Madrid forward of evading some 14.7 million euros ($16.5 million) in taxes between 2011-14.
It added that Ronaldo had done so "in a conscious and voluntary manner."
The player allegedly failed to pay 1.39 million euros in taxes during the 2011 fiscal year; 1.66 million in 2012, 3.2 million in 2013 and 8.5 million in 2014.
The prosecution said Ronaldo had taken advantage of a corporate structure created in 2010 that served to conceal the iconic player's income derived from his image rights.
It cited as precedent the recent verdict by Spain's Supreme Court that confirmed the 21-month prison sentence imposed on FC Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi for tax fraud.
Messi was found guilty of evading some 4.1 million euros in taxes, also in relation to the exploitation of his image rights.
The prosecution's complaint is set to be reviewed by the courts, which will decide the penal consequences, if any, that Ronaldo could face.
According to the complaint, after signing his contract with Real Madrid in 2008, Ronaldo "simulated" ceding his image rights to a shell company based in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven in the Caribbean.
Ronaldo was listed as the sole member of the company, Tollin Associates LTD.
Tollin ceded the exploitation rights to Ronaldo's image to another company in Ireland, Multisports & Image Management LTD, which actually managed the soccer icon's image while Tollin apparently remained inactive and was kept dormant.
The prosecution said that ceding the rights at first to Tollin was "completely unnecessary," unless the intent was to set up a shell company as a vehicle to defraud taxes.
It added that Ronaldo declared in his tax returns a domestic-source income of 11.5 million euros between 2011-14 when, in reality, it amounted to nearly 43 million euros.
Ronaldo also allegedly described some of his income as returns on property investment instead of earnings from economic activities, which allowed him to considerably reduce his taxable base.
While Ronaldo's net assets are unknown, most sources estimate his wealth to be at least somewhere between 230-290 million euros.
According to Forbes, he was the best-paid sports figure in 2016, when he saw an income of some $88 million.
That year, he also inked a lifetime deal with apparel giant Nike worth upward of $1 billion.
SHOT LIST: FILE FOOTAGE
Keywords: efe,real madrid,cristiano ronaldo,,fraud,tax,football,soccer