Barcelona, Spain – Lionel Messi and his father have been ordered by a Spanish court to appear for questioning on Sept. 17 as part of an investigation into tax fraud allegations, it was announced late Thursday.
A state prosecutor issued a complaint alleging that Messi and father Jorge defrauded the Spanish tax office out of approximately $5.3 million.
Messi and his father will appear before judge Anju Deb Rani to determine whether there exist grounds to charge them with tax evasion.
If charged and found guilty, Messi and his father could face a fine of up to 150 percent of the concealed earnings and up to six years in prison, although an out-of-court deal is another plausible outcome.
