Mascherano agree to a year in jail

For defrauding 1.5 million euros of Finance. It has asked the Court to suspend it or replace it with a fine

Courtesy Sport: Marc Creus/Carles Javierre/Bwokaa and Spanish Football

Javier Mascherano, footballer of FC Barcelona , today accepted a sentence of one year in prison for defrauding 1.5 million euros to theTreasury and has asked the Court of Barcelona that will suspend imprisonment or replace it by a fine of 21,600 euros.

In a judgment "in voce" the eighth section of the Court of Barcelona has sentenced the player to one year in prison in a trial that lasted just ten minutes in which Mascherano has accepted year prison agreed with the prosecution and the State Bar, after returning to the Treasury the amount defrauded.

The sentence condemns Mascherano to a year in jail for two offenses against public finances in fiscal years 2011 and 2012 and imposed a fine of 815,000 euros, in addition to the prohibition for public subsidies and tax incentives for the duration of the sentence .

The defense of Mascherano, exerted by lawyers David Aineto and Diego Artacho has asked the court to replace the prison sentence imposed by another fine of 21,600 euros and if not, it shall be suspended imprisonment , one as courts usually granted if there is no history.

Substitution fine expedites the cancellation of the criminal record of the player, while in case processing suspension would risk entering prison if they commit a new crime during the next two years.

The prosecution has supported the request of the defense, but not the State Bar , which accepts that the entry is suspended prison footballer -for lack background and be the lesser sentence to two years but opposes to it commuted 21,600 euros fine raised by the defense.

Mascherano lawyers, who base their request for replacement of imprisonment in an article the former Criminal Code, alleging that the player should benefit from this measure-applied in other cases of fiscal fraud fortunes convicted, given their willingness to money back and assume the facts.

Meanwhile, the eighth section of the hearing, chaired by Jesus Maria Barrientos, one of the three candidates vying for the presidency of the Superior Court of Catalonia has agreed to decide on the replacement then because, recalled, among other issues no information on their economic capacity.

Barca defense and tax fraud perpetrated acknowledged in his statement as a defendant before a judge Gava (Barcelona) last October, returned once had 1.5 million defrauded and another 200,000 in interest.

The player returned the money he claimed Hacienda even before the Prosecution of Economic Crimes interpose a complaint against him for not having included in their income tax returns for the years 2011 and 2012 the revenue from the commercial exploitation of his image rights .

The public prosecutor argued in its complaint that, in order to evade their obligation to pay taxes, the player did not declare income derived from the Nike brand through a company established in US society and simulated the transfer of their image rights to a purely instrumental company based in the free zone of Madeira (Portugal).