Cristiano Ronaldo accepts prison sentence and will pay tax authorities 18.8 million euros - reports
Spanish newspaper El Mundo is reporting that the Real Madrid striker has accepted a deal with the Spanish tax authorities. He won't serve time in jail due to the short length of the prison sentence.
According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Cristiano Ronaldo has reached a final agreement with the Spanish tax authorities to settle his tax situation.
The Real Madrid striker will admit to four counts of tax fraud and accept a prison sentence of two years, meaning he won’t serve time in jail, with short jail sentence in Spain not requiring time be served provided it is a first offence. He’ll also pay taxes, fines and interest of a total of 18.8 million euros.
With this settlement the player has reduced the total tax fraud he was originally accused of, from 14.7 million to 5.7 million. El Mundo says the agreement is final, and only requires the final sign-off from the new director of the tax authorities.
Ronaldo seeking to have jail sentence exchange for fine
Although the agreement with the tax authorities is final, the Real Madrid player will apparently seek to exchange the jail sentence for a fine when the agreement is put to the judge in the case. This would mean that if he were ever to receive a jail sentence in Spain in the future of two years or under, he wouldn't have to serve it.