Spanish tax authorities seeking five-year jail term for Xabi Alonso
The public prosecutor's office in Madrid alleges that the former Real Madrid midfielder concealed 4.9 million euros of income related to his image rights.
The Madrid public prosecutor’s office has opened a case against Xabi Alonso over three instances of alleged tax fraud in 2010, 2011 and 2012 while the former Spain midfielder was a player at Real Madrid.
The tax authorities in the Spanish capital are seeking a five-year prison sentence for the 36-year-old and have also recommended the same term for his financial advisor, Ivan Zaldúa Azcuenaga and the executive director of the notary firm Kardazli Comercio Serviços de Consultoría e Investimentos LDA, Ignasi Maestre Casanova.
Prosecutors use Messi precedent to target Alonso's advisors
The prosecutor’s petition follows the precedent set during the investigation into the tax affairs of Barcelona star Leo Messi, which opened the legal path for cases of tax fraud to be opened not only against the alleged individual offender but also the advisors and assessors employed by them.
Alonso stands accused of concealing 4.9 million euros in earnings relating to his image rights through a company based in Madeira between 2010 and 2012.
The prosecutor’s office has also asked that Alonso, Azcuenaga and Casanova be fined four million euros apiece and that they should pay a collective voluntary contribution to the state coffers of 2,032,845 euros, the amount that the tax authorities state is owed on the earnings Alonso allegedly failed to declare during the period in question, plus interests generated in the meantime.