Judge drops charges against Messi relating to tax fraud in charity games
It’s been proved that the Argentina international did not receive money for the matches
A Barcelona judge has archived the case against Lionel Messi regarding a claim he committed tax fraud in relation to six charity matches he participated in in 2012 and 2013, concluding that the Argentine international did not receive any money from the games.
In a judicial decree, the judge provisionally archived the case against Messi and the Leo Messi Foundation as there was no evidence that the games – promoted as ‘Messi and his friends vs. the Rest of the World’ and ‘The Battle of the Stars -were used to defraud the Tax Office of cash.
The court’s decision was based on a witness statement from the person who organised the matches – the Argentine Guillermo Javier Martin. He assured that Messi played these games for free and that the only compensation he received was his travel and accommodation.
This case, though, has nothing to do with the other case which is currently pending at the Court of Barcelona in relation to another tax offence.
Messi and his dad, Jorge Messi, are accused of defrauding Spain of more than four million euros , something they strongly deny.
The accusations suggest Jorge avoided paying tax on Messi’s earning by using offshore companies in Belize and Uruguay between 2007 and 2009.
