Barcelona’s soccer star Lionel Messi is being prosecuted for tax fraud, despite his claims that he wasn’t aware of how his money was managed.
A Barcelona court decided Thursday that the Argentine football player, as well as his father Jorge, will be tried for evading taxes between 2007 and 2009, media reported.
The court was considering a request by prosecutors to drop the charges, but the tax authorities’ representation insisted on charges of tax fraud to the tune of more than €4 million.
They face a maximum sentence of 22 months in jail if found guilty.
Messi’s lawyers had argued that the player “never devoted a minute of his life to reading, studying or analysing,” wrote El País. Jorge, Lionel’s father, is reportedly in charge of the soccer star’s finances.
Spanish tax authorities said they “cannot ignore” evidence that the player’s image rights revenue was channeled through off-shore tax havens including Uruguay and Belize.
Both Messi and his father deny any wrongdoing, and both have shown willingness to cooperate. They also paid the Spanish tax authorities a “corrective payment” after the allegations came up, in 2013.