Depp ‘lied to court over dog smuggling’

JOHNNY Depp has been warned he could face perjury charges over an incident in which he took his two pet dogs into Australia without declaring them.

The actor filmed a toe- curling video message to court in April last year apologising for his mistake and claiming that he did not realise he was breaking the law.

His then wife Amber Heard spoke of her regret at not filling out documentation for Yorkshire terriers Pistol and Boo after the couple were accused of smuggling the dogs into the country in 2015.

Miss Heard admitted the lesser offence of providing a false immigration document and was placed on a good behaviour bond. She and Depp split a month later.

Dog smuggling carries a sentence of up to ten years in jail and Depp’s former management company now says the 54-year-old had been fully aware he was breaking the law. Documents from TMG claim the actor had ‘pressured one of his long-term employees to take the fall’.

Yesterday Australian deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce said the government may reinvestigate Depp. ‘If the allegation is correct, there’s a word for that – it is called perjury,’ he said.

Depp sued TMG for £19.5million in January for mismanaging his earnings, alleging fraud and negligence. But in a counter lawsuit, TMG blamed his financial woes on a lavish lifestyle costing more than £1.5million a month.

In court papers obtained by People magazine in the US, TMG claims: ‘Depp falsely claimed to authorities and in public press interviews that the incident was a big misunderstanding.’