Cristiano Ronaldo accepts $21 million fine to settle tax fraud case

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has agreed to pay a $21.3 million (£16.5 million) fine in return for a 23-month suspended prison sentence after striking a deal in his tax fraud case.
The Portuguese sports star, who plays for Italian team Juventus, appeared in court in Madrid, Spain on Tuesday morning (22Jan19) for a brief hearing to formally accept the deal he made with prosecutors in June (18) which would see him avoid jail if he admitted to tax evasion and paid a hefty fine.
At the Provincial Court on Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to tax fraud and agreed to pay $21 million in return for a 23-month suspended prison sentence.
The 33-year-old had been accused of defrauding the authorities of $16.6 million (£12.9 million) in unpaid taxes between 2011 and 2014, when he was playing for Real Madrid.
Madrid’s regional state prosecutor alleged Ronaldo had used what appeared to be a shell company in the Virgin Islands to “create a screen in order to hide his total income from Spain’s tax office”.
Officials insisted the father-of-four “intentionally” failed to declare millions in profits related to image rights, and significantly under-reported his income during the three-year period in question.
Ronaldo arrived at the court with his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez to a huge media presence after a judge denied his request to appear by video or to enter the building via an underground car park.