足球巨星梅西因逃税获刑21个月

Barcelona's Argentinian soccer star Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21 months in prison and fined 2 million euros ($2.2 million) after being found guilty of three counts of tax fraud, a court in the Spanish city said on Wednesday.

巴塞罗那地方法院周三宣判，来自阿根廷的巴萨球星里奥•梅西因三项偷逃税款的指控，被判21个月监禁，并处罚金200万欧元（220万美元）。

The court handed the same jail sentence to the Argentine soccer player's father, Jorge, and fined him 1.5 million euros. However, in Spain it is customary that those sentenced to under two years for non-violent crimes do not serve time in jail.

这位阿根廷足球运动员的父亲豪尔赫也获刑21个月，罚款150万欧元。然而，依据西班牙的惯例，非暴力犯罪且监禁期不足两年的人不必入狱服刑。

Messi, 29, and his father were accused by the Spanish tax office of defrauding the government of 4.2 million euros ($4.7 million) in tax between 2007 and 2009.

西班牙税务部门指控现年29岁的梅西及其父亲在2007至2009年间偷逃国家税款420万欧元（470万美元）。

The court found that they had used a web of shell companies to evade taxes on income from the player's image rights.

法庭发现他们利用一系列空壳公司，偷逃梅西肖像权收入的税款。

Messi, five-times World Player of the Year, said during the trial that he had no knowledge of the dealings and that his father had control over his financial affairs. But the court said this was not enough for him to avoid charges.

曾五度荣获国际足联金球奖的梅西在审判中表示，他对逃税行为并不知情，其财务事宜均由父亲管控。但法院称这一说法不足以使其免于指控。

The defendants can appeal to the supreme court, the Barcelona local court said in its statement.

巴塞罗那地方法院在声明中说，被告可以向最高法院进行上诉。

Messi and his father had already paid 5 million euros to the tax authorities as a "corrective" measure after formal investigations were opened.

此前，梅西父子已在正式调查启动后向税务机关缴纳了500万欧元作为“改正”措施。

The footballer is 10th on Forbes Magazine's list of the world’s highest-earning athletes over the past decade, with an estimated income of $350 million during this period.

在美国商业杂志《福布斯》发布的过去十年收入最高运动员排行榜上，梅西位列第十。据估算，其十年内的总收入达3.5亿美元。