Spain’s prosecutor’s office had filed a lawsuit against football star Cristiano Ronaldo for allegedly defrauding Spanish authorities of 14.7 million euros between 2011 and 2014.
The Portuguese star will testify on July 31, it has been confirmed.
Here’s what happened:
The prosecutor’s office said in a statement that Real Madrid’s Ronaldo had knowingly used a business structure created in 2010 to allegedly hide his income in Spain from his image rights.
This involved a “voluntary” failure to comply with his tax obligations in Spain, the statement from the office’s economic crimes section said. The accusations were based on a report from Spain’s tax agency, it said.
Real Madrid declined to comment and calls to the agency representing Ronaldo, Gestifute, went unanswered.
Prosecutors alleged that Ronaldo had defrauded the tax authorities of 1.4 million euros in 2011, 1.7 million euros in 2012, 3.2 million euros in 2013 and 8.5 million euros in 2014.
Ronaldo, who is from Portugal, became a Spanish tax resident in January 2010 and in November 2011 opted to follow the Spanish tax regime that applies to foreigners working in Spain, the statement said.
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Real Madrid issued a statement backing the star:
“Real Madrid CF put their full confidence in our player, Cristiano Ronaldo, who we understand has acted in legal accordance regarding compliance with his tax obligations.
Cristiano Ronaldo has always shown since his arrival at Real Madrid CF, in July 2009, a clear will to fulfil all his tax obligations.
Real Madrid CF is absolutely convinced that our player Cristiano Ronaldo will prove his total innocence in this process.
Real Madrid CF hopes that the authorities will act as quickly as possible so that his innocence can be demonstrated as soon as possible”
Now, he will follow court proceedings and learn his fate on the allegations.
