Messi caught up in 1m money laundering mess

Posted Monday, June 09, 2014 by Marca.com

The Spanish Civil Guard's Anti-Money Laundering Unit is investigating five bank transfers totalling almost €1 million in connection with alleged money laundering and tax fraud carried out by the organisers of at least two "Messi and Friends vs Rest of the World" matches, according to reports in 'El País'.

The funds under investigation were funnelled into a bank account in the tax haven of Curaçao, in the Dutch Caribbean, according to the Madrid-based newspaper. The corresponding bank slips list the recipient as a company by the name of 'G. Marín-Messi', the first half of which refers to Guillermo Marín, who has long been entrusted with managing the star's charity fixtures.

Both Leo and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, are on record as admitting that Marín is a friend. "He's an Argentinian businessman I've known since 2006 who organises my foundation's matches", the Barça star told the Civil Guard during his deposition.

According to the story in 'El País', the investigators were more interested in who was responsible for communicating with Marín, with the Argentina forward revealing that his father was the liaison. Nevertheless, Messi Sr and Jr have both testified in relation to the investigation and insisted that they didn't receive any.