Chronicle Editor
Madrid — Cristiano Ronaldo avoided jail yesterday but was ordered to pay R59 million (€3.57 million) for committing tax fraud when he was at Real Madrid, a Madrid court ruled.
The court sentenced Ronaldo to a two-year jail sentence that it immediately reduced to a fine of €365 000 which adds on to another penalty of €3.2 million, the sentence read.
A court spokesman said it was not immediately clear if this fine would be added onto the R300 million (€18.8 million) that Ronaldo had agreed to pay Spain’s taxman under a deal reached in June last year.
The Juventus forward, who was facing charges stemming from his days at Real Madrid, was in court for about 45 minutes and signed an agreement which will cost him €19 million (R300 million) in fines.
Ronaldo arrived at court in a black van and was wearing a black sports coat and black pants.
He walked up some stairs leading to the court house and even stopped to sign an autograph.
Ronaldo made the deal to plead guilty with Spain’s state prosecutor and tax authorities last year.
In Spain, a judge can suspend sentences for two years or less for first-time offenders.
In 2017, a state prosecutor accused Ronaldo of four counts of tax fraud from 2011-14 worth €14.7 million (R232 million).
Ronaldo was accused of having used shell companies outside Spain to hide income made from image rights.
— AFP.
derick.khumalo