Sports
Ronaldo appears in court on tax charges
Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo, has appeared at a Spanish court where he is facing allegations that he evaded millions in tax.
The Portuguese reportedly spent an hour-and-a-half giving testimony to judges at the court in the Madrid suburb of Pozuelo de Alarcónon on Monday.
Prosecutors are accusing the world’s highest paid athlete of evading €14.7m in tax.
They say Ronaldo took “advantage of a company structure created in 2010 to hide income generated in Spain from his image rights from tax authorities”, which was a “voluntary and conscious breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain”.
Read Also: El Clasico: Barca beat Madrid to win International Champions Cup
The 32-year old had previously denied the allegations, saying his “conscience is clear”, but made no statement after the pre-trial hearing, as he left the press men outside the court without saying a word.
Ronaldo is only the latest in a string of high-profile footballers to be pursued by the Spanish tax authorities.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi was recently handed a 21-month prison sentence after being found guilty of the same charge.
However, Messi, who was only accused of evading €4.1m in tax, €10.6m less than Ronaldo’s, was allowed to pay €252,000 in place of jail time.
But if the case is sent to trial and he is found guilty, Ronaldo could face a fine of “at least €28m” and a prison sentence of three-and-a-half years, the Gestha union of experts at Spain’s Inland Revenue has said.
RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...