Barcelona and Argentina soccer superstar Lionel Messi is about to stand trial alongside his father for tax evasion after a prosecution application to remove him from the case was rejected by a judge in Spain.
The public prosecutor in Spain has strongly argued that Messi’s father Jorge was responsible for the family’s finances and not the Barcelona star. However a court in Barcelona has sincere decided, that Lionel Messi himself could have known about and agreed to approve the creation of a web of shell companies that were allegedly used to evade taxes due on income from image rights.
According to Spanish AS, it is believed that there is no evidence of wrongdoing on his part was rejected as the judge ruled that he could have been aware of the activities of his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, who represents the player in all his financial affairs.
The judge released a statement in which he said: “In this type of crime, it is not necessary for someone to have complete knowledge of all the accounting and business operations, nor the exact quantity, rather it is sufficient to be aware of the designs to commit fraud and consent to them.”
It is understood that Messi and his father are accused of tax fraud to the tune of €4million between 2007 and 2009. Both strongly deny the charges.