Neymar Loses N16.15bn To Brazil

A federal court in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has found Barcelona superstar, Neymar guilty of tax fraud after he failed to reveal the earnings from his contracts with Santos, Barcelona and sportswear giant, Nike. According to ESPN, quoting reports in Brazilian publication, Folha de S. Paulo, Neymar has been order by the court to pay N16.15billion (188.8 million Brazilian reals or €45.9m) in fines and back-taxes. The reports say that available court documents show that Neymar used his businesses (Neymar Sport e Marketing, N & N Consultoria, N & N Administracao de Bens) to avoid paying N19.85billion (€56.4m) between 2012 and 2014. The judges examining the case alleged that false contracts were created to avoid paying the full taxes. The court last year froze assets related to Neymar valued at about N17.48billion (189 million Brazilian reals, $48m or €42m) because of the allegations of tax evasion. “We studied the information regarding the tax case in question, Neymar, the three businesses and his business partners [parents of the player] and we found that there were fraudulent business practices,” wrote Develly Claudia Montez, who performed the audit for the court. The superstar can however appeal the ruling. Neymar is also under investigation in Spanish court over his transfer from Santos to Barcelona in 2013. Earlier this year he testified in court along with his father and the former and current Barcelona presidents. Neymar had been fined earlier over unpaid taxes in Brazil and the decision was pending appeal. Thanks for reading.

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