MADRID, Spain – World football legend and Portuguese striker, Cristiano Ronaldo has been sentenced to 23 months jail for evading tax to the tune of £16.6 million in Spain.
He however accepted settlement to the tune of (€18.8 million) or (£16.6 million) for the tax fraud. He will however not spend the 23 months in jail since the sentence is less than 2 ye ars based on Spanish laws. He will serve it on probation.
Ronaldo was alleged by prosecutors to have wired money up to €5.7m through a low tax companies abroad to avoid paying the required tax, Spanish news agency, EFE reported.
In 2017, when the allegations first emerged, prosecutors said it was a “voluntary and conscious breach of his fiscal obligations in Spain”.
There was however a mild drama in the court premises when Ronaldo arrived with his wife Georgina Rodriguez. His request to drive into the courtroom to avoid a battery of reporters waiting to take his photographs was turned down.
Local media reported that his session in the court was lasted for 15 minutes.