Portugal forward, Cristiano Ronaldo appeared in court near Madrid on Monday accused of evading millions of euros in taxes, the latest player to fall foul of Spain’s tax law.
The 32-year-old entered the court in Pozuelo de Alarcon, a wealthy suburb of Madrid where he lives, in a car with tinted windows via an underground garage to avoid the glare of the dozens of cameras gathered outside.
The Prosecutors accuse Ronaldo of having evaded 14.7 million euros ($17.3 million) in tax. Saying he knowingly breached the agreement quoting “voluntary and conscious breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain”.
They alleged he took “advantage of a company structure created in 2010 to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights from tax authorities”.
Prosecutors accuse the four-time world best player of evading tax via a shell company based in the British Virgin Islands and another in Ireland, known for low corporate tax rates.
In addition, they said the striker only declared 11.5 million euros of Spanish-related income from 2011 to 2014 from a fiscal angle, while what he really earned during that period was close to 43 million euros.
The prosecutor’s office filed a complaint on June 12, stating he made a “voluntary and conscious” breach of his obligations in Spain by creating a business structure to conceal his earnings between 2011 and 2014:
- 2011 – €1,393,906.83
- 2012 – €1,665,304.09
- 2013 – €3,201,266.93
- 2014 – €8,508,419.55
Finally, they accused him of “voluntarily” refusing to include 28.4 million euros in income linked to the sale of his image rights for the 2015 to 2020 period to a Spanish company.
Ronaldo is expected to declare he’s not guilty of any charges during his closed door court appearance. He has defended himself, saying his “conscience is clear”. His agent’s company Gestifute has also denied any “fiscal set-up” and said “the player didn’t hide anything”.
“The public prosecutor has filed today a complaint against Cristiano Ronaldo and not a claim, which implies a substantial change,” the statement read.
“The public prosecutor understands that CR [Ronaldo] is participating in an offshore structure, similar to that of other players, when most of the revenues were obtained directly by the player, without the participation of any of his societies.
“The rest of his revenues were paid to the player and declared in Spain according to the terms that the player’s advisors considered applicable.
“There is no offshore structure for evading taxes. Tollin is 100 per cent owned by Cristiano Ronaldo since its foundation in 2004. It was founded when the player arrived at Manchester United, six years before his signing for Real Madrid, and the net profits were €12,753,685,28.”
Ronaldo is not the only footballer to fall foul of authorities in Spain, which is only just recovering from a damaging economic crisis that saw countless people lose their jobs and inequalities rise.
Lionel Messi was sentenced to a 21-month jail sentence and 2.09 million euros fine last year for tax fraud. His prison sentence has since been replaced by another fine of 252,000 euros, which corresponds to 400 euros for each day of jail.
Barcelona’s Argentine defender Javier Mascherano, meanwhile, agreed a one-year suspended sentence with authorities for tax fraud last year.
Apart from Ronaldo, former player Angel di Maria, Portuguese defender Fabio Coentrao and Jose Mourinho, who coached the club from 2010 to 2013, have all been accused of tax fraud.
All are clients of super-agent Jorge Mendes, who was also questioned and put under official investigation last month by a Spanish court investigating alleged tax evasion by Monaco striker Radamel Falcao, another footballer in his stable.
The likelihood of him seeing a jail cell seems unlikely, as he could be handed a suspended term like Messi if it is less than two years.
