Bayern chief Hoeness sentenced to prison for tax evasion Uli Hoeness, president of German Bundesliga football club Bayern Munich, has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for tax evasion. Hoeness, one of the most powerful figures in German football, was found guilty of evading €27.2m ($37.5m) in tax by channelling money through an undeclared Swiss bank account. Hoeness will remain on bail pending the outcome of an appeal, which must be submitted within one week. Hoeness was initially charged with dodging €3.5m in tax through the Swiss account, but when his trial opened on Monday the former Germany international admitted to avoiding €15m more. Investigators reached the final figure of €27.2m after analysing documents Hoeness provided before the trial, and the 62-year-old did not dispute their findings. Prosecutors had called for a five-and-a-half-year sentence, while Hoeness’ defence had asked for probation based on the fact that he had provided details of the financial irregularities to the court, according to the DPA news agency. Defence lawyer Hanns Feigen said that an appeal would be lodged, adding that he remains convinced that the appeals court would come to a “better result” than the one handed down by the Munich state court. The Munich court found Hoeness guilty of “seven serious counts of tax evasion” and added: “The voluntary disclosure is not valid with the documents that were presented alone.” Hoeness said earlier this week that he deeply regretted his “wrongdoing” and added: “I will do everything necessary to ensure that this depressing chapter for me is closed.” Bayern had stood by Hoeness during the investigation, and the club’s supervisory board was expected to meet following the verdict to consider the next steps. A statement from the club was expected to be released later on Thursday.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 04:51:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015