Diego Costa To Face Trial Over Tax Fraud

By Ibrahim Taiwo, The Nigerian Voice Sports

Atletico Madrid striker, Diego Costa is set to face trial for alleged tax fraud on June 4. Thenigerianvoice.com is reporting.

According to a court filing, the former Chelsea forward is accused of defrauding the state of more than 1 million euros (£900,000) by not declaring payments of more than 5.15m euros (£4.63m) following his move from the West London side in 2014.

Costa is also accused of not paying more than 1 million euros ($1.1 million) from money earned by image rights.

A six-month prison sentence will be sought against Atlético Madrid striker Diego Costa for alleged tax fraud, Spain’s state prosecutors’ office said on Friday.

If found guilty, prosecutors in Madrid are set to ask for a six-month prison sentence and a fine of more than 500,000 euros (£450,000).

According to the Spanish law, sentences below two years for non-violent crimes can be exchanged for a fine, so if found guilty, Costa would avoid prison if he paid an additional fine of 36,500 euros (£32,896).

The court date has been set for next Thursday, a week before Atletico Madrid resume their La Liga campaign amidst the Coronavirus crisis.

Recently, Spain has cracked down on tax fraud by soccer players in recent years and biggest of football player has been found culpable of this act. However, none of them were jailed but they did pay huge fines.