Messi denies tax evasion in Panama Papers scandal
Messi denies tax evasion in Panama Papers scandal
The family of Lionel Messi denied on Monday that he was involved in
tax evasion after the Barcelona star emerged as one of many
personalities accused of shady offshore dealings in the Panama Papers
scandal.
"The Messi family wants to make clear that Lionel Messi
has not carried out any of the acts attributed to him, and accusations
he created a... tax evasion plot, including a network of
money-laundering, are false and insulting," it said in a statement.
The
scandal erupted on Sunday when media groups made public a year-long
worldwide investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents leaked
from a Panama-based law firm that exposed a tangle of offshore financial
dealings by the elite.
Among the accused are close associates of
Russian President Vladimir Putin, relatives of Chinese leader Xi
Jinping, Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson as well
as sports celebrities and screen stars.
Messi and his father are named as owners of a Panama company that had not previously been disclosed during a Spanish probe into their tax affairs.
"The Panama company to which they refer to is a totally inactive
company that never had any funds or any open current accounts," the
Messi family said.
They added that the firm was created by the family's former tax advisers and that everything had since been brought into line where Messi's fiscal situation was concerned.
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