Lionel Messi' Trial For Tax Fraud to Start May 31 – Court

Barcelona star Lionel Messi and his father’s trial for tax fraud will begin on May 31 at a court in Barcelona, a regional superior court said Wednesday.Messi and his father Jorge have been charged with tax fraud for allegedly failing to declare 4.16 million euros ($4.69 million) in taxes related to his image rights between 2007 and 2009 through front companies in Belize and Uruguay.
The pair are accused of ceding the player’s image rights to the companies in order to avoid declaring money made from lucrative deals with sponsors in Spain.
Public prosecutors had asked for the case against the Argentine player to be dropped as they considered the alleged fraud was carried out by his father, who has managed his son’s affairs since he was a child.