Brazilian prosecutors charge Neymar, Bartomeu and Rosell

Posted Sunday, January 31, 2016 by Marca.com

The Brazilian Public Prosecutor's Office has decided to press charges against Neymar, the current Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and his predecessor Sandro Rosell for alleged tax evasion and document tampering, 'Veja' magazine has revealed.

According to the weekly Brazilian publication, which reproduces an excerpt of the complaint, Neymar and his father, who is also amongst the accused, are suspected of having created three shell companies and tampering with documents in order to evade the payment of taxes. "It is patently clear that Neymar and his father established the companies with the sole purpose of using them to receive remuneration from the contracts and to thereby pay less in tax", assures the public prosecutor who authored the complaint, Thiago Lacerda Nobre. If found guilty of the crimes, the accused could face up to five years in prison.

In the document, the public prosecutor claims that the player and his dad (who is also his agent) set up companies to avoid paying the 27.5% tax rate for individuals. The player allegedly received the majority of his salary from his old club, Santos, and the profits originating from advertising contracts through these companies. The ploy is thought to have enabled them to evade 50% of the tax which they should have paid. Other schemes are said to have been used in connection with the star's move to Barça, hence Bartomeu and Rosell also being charged.