MADRID, (Reuters) – Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi had nothing to do with his own tax affairs and should not be included in an investigation into an alleged fraud, his father Jorge has insisted.
Messi and his father, who have denied wrongdoing, have been accused of defrauding the Spanish state of more than 4 million euros (5.13 million US dollars) by filing incomplete returns for the years 2007 to 2009. Income from Messi’s image rights was allegedly hidden using a web of shell companies in Uruguay, Belize, Switzerland and Britain.