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Real Madrid coach Ancelotti faces prison time in tax fraud case

Spanish prosecutors on Wednesday called for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti to be jailed for four years and nine months, saying he had failed to declare earnings to the tax office.

Real Madrid coach Ancelotti faces prison time in tax fraud case
Real Madrid's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti gives a press conference on the eve of the UEFA Champions League last 16 second leg football match against RB Leipzig at the Ciudad Real Madrid training ground in Valdebebas, outskirts of Madrid, on March 5, 2024. (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP)

Madrid state prosecutor’s office accused the 64-year-old Italian of having cost Spain’s treasury more than one million euros in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.

“Although he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated that his home was in Madrid, he only declared in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid,” the tax office said in a statement.

It accused Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights.

Prosecutors also alleged the Real Madrid coach “simulated” the transfer of his image rights to entities “without any real activity” based outside of Spain to maintain “opacity vis-a-vis” the Spanish treasury.

A Spanish court in July ordered Ancelotti – regarded as one of the greatest coaches of all time – to stand trial over the affair, but no date has been set.

Spanish crackdown

Spain has cracked down in recent years on celebrities like football stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for not paying their full due in taxes.

Both players were found guilty of tax evasion and received prison sentences that were waived for being first-time offenders.

Colombian superstar Shakira in November agreed to receive a three-year suspended sentence and pay €7.3 million in fines to settle a tax fraud case and avoid trial.

Prosecutors had accused the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer of defrauding the Spanish state of €14.5 million ($15.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014, charges Shakira had denied, saying she only moved to Spain full time in 2015.

Ancelotti took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.

He later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.

Ancelotti had been tipped to coach Brazil’s national team when his contract with Real Madrid ended but instead in December he extended it to June 2026.

Ancelotti has won the Champions League four times — twice with AC Milanand on two occasions with Real Madrid.

He has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.

Madrid face RB Leipzig on Wednesday in a Champions League last-16 second leg clash, after Ancelotti’s side carved out a 1-0 advantage in Germany.

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CRIME

Pensioner letter bomb suspect goes on trial in Spain

A pensioner who allegedly sent letter bombs to Spain's prime minister and the US and Ukrainian embassies in 2022 went on trial Monday, facing 22 years behind bars if convicted.

Pensioner letter bomb suspect goes on trial in Spain

Pompeyo González Pascual, a man in his mid-70s from northern Spain, is facing charges of terrorism and manufacturing explosives for sending letter bombs to six addresses in late 2022.

Gonzalez Pascual listened as the charges were read out at Madrid’s Audiencia Nacional, Spain’s top criminal court.

The trial will run until Thursday.

According to the indictment, the suspect was opposed to Madrid and Washington’s support for Ukraine following Russia’s February 2022 invasion and “sought to change those positions and cause a profound upheaval in Spanish society”.

The devices were sent to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, Defence Minister Margarita Robles, the US and Ukrainian embassies, a Spanish arms firm that makes grenades donated to Ukraine and a major Spanish military base.

A Ukrainian embassy staffer sustained light injuries while opening one of the packages. The other packages were intercepted by security staff.

An expert who examined his computer told the court they found evidence of “searches for how to prepare explosive devices” and of his visiting “media propaganda channels related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict”.

Gonzalez Pascual was arrested in January 2023 and put in pre-trial detention but a judge granted him conditional release last month on grounds he wasn’t in a position to destroy evidence or likely to reoffend, and had no previous convictions.

At the time, the judge said there were “no indications” he had acted in conjunction with “any organised terror group”.

His arrest came after a New York Times report said US and European investigators believed Russian military intelligence officers had “directed” associates of a Russia-based white supremacist group to carry out the Spain campaign.

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