A Barcelona court has found Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, and his
father, Jorge Horacio Messi, guilty of three counts of tax fraud and has
sentenced them to 21 months in prison -- although neither is likely to
serve any jail time. In a statement, the
court also said that the sentence can be appealed through the Spanish
supreme court. Under Spanish law, a tax prison sentence under two years
can be served under probation, meaning Messi and his father are very
unlikely to go to jail. The court has also ordered Messi to pay a fine of about €2 million ($2.2 million), while his father was dealt a €1.5m fine for the tax evasion.
The court had been hearing a case brought by prosecutors who maintain
that Messi and his father, Jorge, used tax havens in Belize and Uruguay
as well as shell companies in the U.K. and Switzerland to avoid paying
taxes totalling €4.1m on earnings from image rights from 2007 to 2009.
Barcelona on Wednesday issued a statement in support of their star forward, saying that they feel Messi is not criminally responsible for the tax fraud.
"FC Barcelona gives all its support to Leo Messi and his father with
relation to the sentence for tax evasion handed out by the Provincial
Court in Barcelona today," the statement read. "The Club, in agreement
with the Government prosecution service, considers that the player, who
has corrected his position with the Spanish Tax Office, is in no way
criminally responsible with regards to the facts underlined in this
case.
"FC Barcelona continues to be at the disposal of Leo Messi and his
family to support him in whatever action he decides to take in defence
of his honesty and his legal interests."
The prosecutors had called for jail sentences for both Messis,
and the court decided to hand out such a punishment, although both of
them denied any willful wrongdoing. Lionel Messi admitted in court last month
that he signed many documents without reading their contents and that
he visited a notary's office to go through with setting up a company to
handle his finances without understanding what was going on.
In 2013, the Barcelona player was set to avoid facing any charges, as
the Spanish revenue service initially accepted that he had no knowledge
of any wrongdoing and instead pressed all charges against his father.
Hundreds of fans took to the rainy streets of
Buenos Aires pleading Lionel Messi to reverse his decision to retire
from international football.
However, in October 2014 the state prosecutor decided to continue
with the charges, and during June's court case its representative, Mario
Maza, said that the Argentina captain's claims of not understanding how the system worked were not acceptable, as even children knew that taxes had to be paid in full.
When news of the investigation first broke in the summer of 2013, the
Messis paid over €5m in arrears and extra charges. They are also
believed to have paid €10m in taxes due on the image-righ ts income for
2010 and 2011.
In February, Messi's teammate Javier Mascherano was given a one-year
prison sentence for not properly paying his taxes. The sentence was deferred for two years after his legal team rejected the option to pay a new €280,000 ($312,000) fine, which it considered excessive. According to Forbes magazine, Messi earns a total of $81.4 million a year, making him No. 2 in their list of world's highest-paid athletes for 2016. Dermot Corrigan is a Madrid-based football writer who covers La Liga and the Spain national team for ESPN FC. Twitter @dermotmcorrigan.
Source: ESPN FC - http://www.espnfc.com/barcelona/story/2908343/lionel-messi-and-father-get-21-month-prison-sentence-in-tax-case
Screenshots taken from a video 18-year-old reality TV star
Kylie Jenner shared, which shows herself and her on/off boyfriend Tyga
all cuddled up together as they spent the Independence day in America
yesterday.
As shared by a Twitter user who says the missing man is his father...
Source: Linda Ikeji's Blog - http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2016/07/photos-man-goes-missing-in-lagos.html
The Imo state police command have arrested one Rev. Fr. John Ogoekwe of
the CKC, Uvuru, Aboh Mbaise and three other priests and also shut down
the Catholic cathedral in Ahiara, Mbaise, Imo State, following a violent
protest allegedly led by the arrested priests.
The protest which took place last Saturday July 2nd, saw a Divisional
Police Officer (DPO), of Ahiazu division, Danjuma Ragga Ben shot on the
leg and hand. The priest and some of his members were protesting over
who should be made the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of the area.
Peace had eluded the diocese for about three years now since Pope
Francis appointed Bishop Peter Opkaleke from Anambra state as the bishop
of the diocese. The priests in the area and their members had protested
Okpaleke's appointment, insisting that a priest from their state should
be appointed into such leadership position. To resolve the impasse, a
Vicar General, Rev. Fr. Clement Ebi, was appointed to function in the
diocese as a bishop until the matter is full resolved.
Trouble started on Saturday July 2nd when the Vicar General decided to
host the Catholic Women Organization of the diocese at St. Roses
Catholic Church, Ezinihitte. This apparently did not go down well with
some of the youths who came out in their numbers and barricaded the
streets and Cathedral, setting fire and carrying leaves and placards.
During the protest, the DPO was shot in the leg and hand.
A statement by the spokesperson of the state police command, Andrew
Enwerem, said twelve people have so far been arrested in connection with
the protest.
“Twelve suspects, including four Rev. Fathers, were eventually arrested
and are been interrogated. All those involved in the shooting of the
DPO will be fished out and prosecuted. The Commissioner of police has
therefore, ordered the Cathedral to remain under lock and key to avoid
further violence.”
Source - Linda Ikeji's Blog (http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2016/07/imo-police-command-arrest-four-priests.html)
Omotola was
yesterday Saturday December 5th, invited and hosted at a grand birthday
party in Warri by businessman Chief Michael Ikuku. Omotola who was
visiting the city for the very first time, wore a black jump suit, gold
accessories and jewelry. The star studded birthday party of Master
Richard Efe .
E . Ikuku also had in attendance, Aki & Pawpaw, Harrysong, Kcee, Mr
Ibu, I go dye, Timaya, Francis Odega, Helen Paul, Akpororo, Empress
Njama, Bishop Okon. More photos after the cut..
SOURCE: LINDA IKEJI -http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2015/12/omotola-goes-to-warri-for-first-time.html
