Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi and his father have arrived at a Spanish court for tax fraud hearing.
The four-time FIFA World Player of the Year and his father Jorge Messi are accused of defrauding the authorities of more than 4m euros ($5.4m; £3.4m).
BBC reports that they are suspected of using companies abroad – in Belize and Uruguay – to sell the rights to use Messi’s image.
They both denied the allegations, which dated back to 2007-09.
The striker responded to greetings as he arrived at the court in Gava – the affluent Barcelona district where he lives.
Messi and his father are being questioned in a closed-court session. They are accused of three counts of defrauding the Spanish state of taxes.
The income related to Messi’s image rights with Banco Sabadell, Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Proctor and Gamble, and the Kuwait Food Company.
via nigerianeye
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