Jorge Messi says both he and his son Lionel are fully cooperating with Spanish authorities who claim the pair evaded over €4 million in taxes between 2007 and 2009. A pre-trial submission from the pair claimed they were unaware they had been badly advised by their accountants and tax consultants. This document reportedly also said that Jorge would take responsibility for any wrongdoing, as his son did not concern himself with any financial affairs. The pair deny any wrongdoing, and have reportedly told the court that they were misled by their financial advisors and are now happy to make right any wrongs they accidentally committed. Jorge told reporters outside the courtroom that he and his son were being completely clear and transparent in all their dealings with the authorities. "The instructions of the Messi family are for total transparency, clarity and collaboration,” he is quoted as saying by AS. The family’s lawyer, Cristobal Martell, took the same conciliatory tone when he spoke outside the court a few minutes later. “The questioning took place with the same wish for transparency,” he said. “It was shown that there was no wish to defraud and a big wish to sort out the relationship with the tax agency. There is no wish to get into any heated argument with the state around the interpretation of the tax regulations.” Spanish press agency EFE reported that Jorge gave evidence at 10am local time, with Lionel speaking at 11am, in a hearing which took place in private. Neither spoke with reporters or the interested onlookers who had gathered outside the courtroom in Gava, near Barcelona, as they entered the building. Jorge had previously told Bloomberg that Rodolfo Schinocca, a sports agent hired by the family in 2005, was ultimately responsible for any irregularities in taxes paid. “Lionel was 15 years old at the time, he didn’t have anything to do with this,” he said. “He is a footballer and that’s it. If there was an error, it was by our financial adviser. He created the company. My mistake was to have trusted the adviser. I’m going to take the blame for that. I had confidence in someone I shouldn’t have had.”
Posted on: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 17:26:52 +0000
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