Barcelona star Lionel Messi will not have to stand trial for tax fraud after being acquitted by prosecutors in Spain on Tuesday, but his father could face 18 months in prison.
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According to the prosecutor’s office, the United Kingdom played host to one of these shell companies used to hide revenue as well as Uruguay, Belize and Switzerland.
“It has not been proven that his lack of knowledge was deliberate or was done with the aim of defrauding the public purse”, a statement read, as quoted by AS.
The case that has been ongoing for a few years now is focussed on tax evasion that Jorge Messi has purportedly been involved in between 2007 and 2009.
Jorge Messi, who also faces a fine of €2m if found guilty, has always maintained his son’s innocence.
The father and son duo have already voluntarily made a €5 million payment in 2013 as a “corrective” measure to offset the unpaid tax including interest.
The player is likely to still appear in court as a witness.
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Their opinion on the case is yet to be published. According to BBC, the income is in relation to deals with “Banco Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter and Gamble, and the Kuwait Food Company”.
