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by pltm
(PLTM) - The man deemed to be the world’s greatest footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, has been accused of four crimes against the public treasury in Spain, which includes tax fraud of over 14M Euros, linked to the British Virgin Islands. The crimes allegedly occurred between 2011 and 2014. The 32 year old star athlete, who plays for Real Madrid in Spain, is said to have evaded 14.7 million Euros in tax, through offshore companies. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Madrid, Ronaldo took advantage of a company structure created in 2010, to hide income generated in Spain from local tax authorities. Ronaldo is accused of ceding his image rights to a company in the British Virgin Islands, so as to avoid paying tax on them in Spain. The Spanish Prosecutor claims that the company, set up in the BVI, was a shell company established to defraud the taxman. Notably, the footballer, who is said to be the world’s highest paid athlete, according to Forbes Magazine, only declared 11.5M Euros of Spanish related income between 2011 to 2014, while he allegedly earned close to 43M Euros. Ronaldo will make an appearance in court on July 31, where a judge will decide if there are grounds to charge him with the crimes brought against him. This news comes as the Territory is making strong attempts to clear its name of myths and mistruths circulating in the international financial services industry. The Territory recently launched a fact guide and information report ---‘Creating Value: The BVI’s Global Contribution’, which seeks to dispel a host of claims against the British Virgin Islands, including claims of the Territory being a tax haven.
