SOCCER STAR RONALDO ACCUSED OF TAX FRAUD

A Spanish state prosecutor accused Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo of defrauding Spain’s tax office of 14.7 million euros ($16.5 million) in unpaid taxes Tuesday. In a statement, Madrid’s regional state prosecutor accused Ronaldo of four accounts of tax fraud from 2011 to 2014. It said the Portugal forward “took advantage of a business structure created in 2010 to hide from fiscal authorities income generated in Spain from image rights.” The statement said Ronaldo used what it deems a shell company in the Virgin Islands to “create a screen in order to hide his total income from Spain’s Tax Office.” The prosecutor also said Ronaldo intentionally did not declare income of 28.4 million euros ($31.8 million) made from the cession of image rights from 2015 to 2020 to another company in Spain. The prosecutor accused Ronaldo of declaring 11.5 million euros ($12.9 million) earned from 2011 to 2014 in a tax return filed in 2014, when the prosecutor said Ronaldo’s real income during that period was almost 43 million euros ($48.2 million). It added that Ronaldo falsely claimed the income as coming from real estate, which greatly reduced his tax rate. Ronaldo’s agency had previously said he was up to date on his taxes. Last month, tax officials said Ronaldo adjusted his tax declarations and paid an extra 6 million euros ($6.7 million) in 2014. A four-time Ballon d’Or winner, Ronaldo, 32, is Europe’s leading soccer player. He has led Madrid to back-to-back Champions League titles and its first Spanish league title in five seasons and helped Portugal to win last year’s European Championship.