Cristiano Ronaldo accused of tax fraud
Spanish prosecutor says Real Madrid's Portuguese star intentionally hid income
A Spanish state prosecutor accused Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo of defrauding Spain's tax office of 14.7 million euros ($16.5 million US) in unpaid taxes on Tuesday.
In a statement, Madrid's regional state prosecutor accused Ronaldo of four accounts of tax fraud from 2011-14.
It said the Portugal forward "took advantage of a business structure created in 2010 to hide from fiscal authorities income generated in Spain from image rights."
The statement said Ronaldo used what it deems a shell company in the Virgin Islands to "create a screen in order to hide his total income from Spain's Tax Office."
The prosecutor also said that Ronaldo "intentionally" did not declare income of 28.4 million euros ($31.8 million US) made from the cession of image rights from 2015-20 to another company located in Spain.
Additionally, the prosecutor accused Ronaldo of declaring 11.5 million euros ($12.8 million US) earned from 2011-14 in a tax return filed in 2014, when the prosecutor said Ronaldo's real income during that period was almost 43 million euros ($48 million US). It added that Ronaldo falsely claimed the income as coming from real estate, which "greatly" reduced his tax rate.
Ronaldo's agency had previously said he was up to date on his taxes.
Last month, tax officials said Ronaldo adjusted his tax declarations and paid an extra 6 million euros ($6.7 million US) in 2014.
A four-time Ballon d'Or winner, the 32-year-old Ronaldo is Europe's leading soccer player. He has led Madrid to back-to-back Champions League titles and its first Spanish league in five seasons, and helped Portugal to win last year's European Championship.
Ronaldo is the latest high-profile soccer player to run afoul of Spain's tax man.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was convicted of tax fraud for unpaid income from image rights last year, but he is not expected to serve prison time since it was his first offence.
On Tuesday, the state prosecutor cited the verdict against Messi as precedent for the case against Ronaldo.