- Manchester United striker, Alexis Sanchez, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for tax fraud
- The former Arsenal and Barcelona attacker will not serve any time behind bars as there is an option to pay up and avoid jail time
- The Chilean international was found guilty of the defrauding the Spanish government of £890k in image rights while playing for Barcelona between 2012 and 2013 Manchester United striker, Alexis Sanchez, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for tax fraud — but will not serve any time behind bars as there is an option to pay up and avoid jail time. The Chile international was found guilty of the defrauding the Spanish government of £890k in image rights while playing for Barcelona between 2012 and 2013.
The legal team of Sanchez reached an agreement whereby the football star will repay the money owed, plus interest, and admit that he falsified the sale of his image rights to a foreign company in order to avoid paying tax.
The 29-year-old gave evidence to a Spanish court via a video camera from London while an Arsenal player on January 16, 2017. He has now accepted his sentence, and has two years to pay the money back, before the suspension is lifted or he will be forced to spend time behind bars. The Chilean is the latest in a long line of high-profile players to have been prosecuted by the Spanish court for alleged tax evasion. His former Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi was given a 21-month suspended sentence in 2016 — before it was changed to a £223,000 fine last year.
Also, another ex-colleague in Javier Mascherano was given a one-year suspended prison sentence in 2016 and hit with a £610,000 fine. Current Ballon d'or holder Cristiano Ronaldo continues to plead his innocence, having been accused of defrauding the Spanish government of £13m in unpaid tax. While Luka Modric also paid £880,00 to Spanish tax authorities to avoid spending time in jail.
Comments
Post a Comment