Tax fraud: Messi’s jail sentence swapped for €255,000 fine

Spain’s public prosecutor has agreed to substitute Lionel Messi’s suspended 21-month prison sentence for tax fraud with a fine.

The Barcelona forward was handed the jail term last July, after being found guilty alongside his father, Jorge, of three counts of tax fraud.

It was ruled that Messi defrauded Spain of €4.1million relating to earnings from image rights between 2007 and 2009.

An appeal against the sentence was rejected by the Spanish Supreme Court in May.

However, Spanish news agency, EFE reports that the Argentine captain, will now pay a fine of €255,000.

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