Football star Lionel Messi's 21-month
prison sentence for tax fraud has been changed to a fine by the Spanish courts.
The Barcelona star must pay €252,000
($288,000, £223,000), equating to €400 for each day of the sentence, the court
said in a statement.
Messi,
along with his father Jorge, was found guilty of defrauding Spain of €4.1m
between 2007 and 2009.
His
father's 15-month sentence was replaced with a €180,000 fine.
The
pair had been found guilty of using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay to conceal
earnings from image rights.
As
well as the suspended jail terms, the Argentina international was fined about
€2m and his father €1.5m. They made a voluntary €5m "corrective
payment", equal to the alleged unpaid tax plus interest, in August 2013.
Messi's
appeal against the sentence was rejected by Spain's Supreme Court last month,
but his father's jail time was reduced because he had paid some of the taxes.
The
footballer was never expected to serve time in jail as under the Spanish
system, prison terms of under two years can be served under probation.
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