The former Cameroon striker argued that “he was a child” and did as ordered by his representative, who he defined as his second father. Having no criminal record, it is possible that the sentence can be served freely.
In recent years, cases of tax evasion by footballers in Spain have become very frequent. During the day on Monday, a new case was known, that of the former Cameroonian footballer from Barcelona, Samuel Eto’o, who along with his former representative José María Mesalles accepted sentences of 22 months and one year in prison, respectively, after admitting to having defrauded the Public Treasury of 3,872,621 euros between 2006 and 2009.
According to the Hispanic press, Eto’o, now president of the Cameroon Football Federation, admitted his responsibility for the events, while indirectly blaming his former coach, whom he defined as “his second father”. “I recognize the facts and I will pay, but let it be known that I was a child then and that I always did what my father asked me to do” expressed the former athlete in his statement, while Mesalles opted for silence before hearing the sentence.
Although the prosecutor’s office requested a four and a half year sentence for both, it was ultimately dismissed with the penalties detailed above. In any case, both were condemned to pay fines of one million dollars for four crimes against the Spanish Treasury. A) Yes, The former Mallorca and Inter player will have to pay 1.8 million euros, while his former agent will have to pay more than 900,000. Having no criminal record and having returned part of what was defrauded, it is possible that both will serve their sentences in complete freedom.
The origin of the fraud is linked to the years when Eto’o played in Barcelona. The high income he received for image rights and a contract with the multinational Puma was diverted to two companies not paying the corresponding amount, which led to the investigation of the authorities of this country.
At the same time, the Cameroonian is following a lawsuit against Mesalles, whom he accuses of fraud and embezzlement of his assets.
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Source: Latercera
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