The Spanish Treasury wants to negotiate an agreement with Cristiano Ronaldo to end the tax fraud case that has blighted the footballer’s image as a clean-cut, upright citizen and role model.The Portuguese player has been investigated by the Spanish authorities for not having declared several years income, earned from his image rights.
The case continues and Ronaldo’s advisors are still answering questions as to how much their client knew about the fraudulent scheme but, according to El Mundo, nothing now will change the view of the Spanish judiciary that Ronaldo is the main culprit in a long-running fraud that took place between 2011 and 2014.
The tax authority presented an agreement to Ronaldo's defence team, according to El Mundo, involving a payment of half the missing tax revenue, as long as the footballer admits his guilt.
The Spanish treasury accuses Ronaldo of defrauding the State of €14.7 million between 2011 and 2014.
The agreement insists that Ronaldo takes the blame for fraud in the years 2011 to 2013 and pays €6.25 million plus a fine, taking the amount for this period to €10 million. As for 2014, the offer is that the player will be judged as being "negligent" which means his actions were not criminal and he will not face a jail sentence which, for normal mortals, would be between 15 months and five years.
The deal for 2014 is that the footballer pays €20 million as normally any fine is between 100% and 150% of the amount defrauded (€8.25 million). He also has to enter a plea of guilty and will end up paying around €30 million but stays out of jail.
If the footballer does not accept this agreement, he will be tried for fraud for the four years and, if he is found guilty, will have to pay a value six times higher than the missing €14.7 million, plus interest, a total of between €88 and €100 million.
According to El Mundo, Ronlado's defence team is willing to accept an agreement that keeps the football player out of prison, but still is negotiating the other terms.
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