Neymar Jr Accused Of Dodging $15 Million In Taxes

Brazilian football captain Neymar Jr recently became a PokerStars brand ambassador, and together with Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima have been doing a great job attracting new recruits to the world’s biggest online poker room. However, the 23 year-old FC Barcelona striker has landed in a spot of bother after the São Paulo federal court alleged that he avoided paying more than $15.1 million in taxes between 2011 and 2013.
According to the decision, Neymar Jr omitted declaring “sources of income from abroad”, and as a result the companies jointly owned by Neymar and his father, Neymar Santos Sr, have had their assets frozen to the tune of $47.6 million. This also covers property and vehicles owned by Neymar, which cannot now be sold until the investigation is resolved.
This latest development covers the two-years just prior to Neymar Jr joining Barcelona FC, with Judge Muta questioning the $4.9 million in assets the soccer superstars declared for that period. Furthermore, Neymar’s subsequent transfer to Barcelona is one already steeped in controversy, with the club’s president Josep Bartomeu and his predecessor, Sandro Rosell, charged with committing tax fraud of around £9.4million, after initially saying they paid £41 million for Neymar, only to later admit the price was nearer to £72 million.
While Neymar Jr has yet to make a public comment on the case, his father and mother have said the court’s decision was based upon an “incorrect understanding” of Neymar’s finances, stating; “Neymar Jr. did not avoid paying taxes, and neither did any of our companies.”
Needless to say, online poker sites do their utmost to avoid bad publicity and take very seriously the conduct and ethical codes of its sponsored pros. For instance, who could forget Luis Suarez‘ departure from 888.com after biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini at last year’s FIFA World Cup? It now remains to be seen whether PokerStars will make a comment on the breaking story, and if it then decides to reassess its partnership deal with the Brazilian soccer star.