MADRID-
A judge indicted Spanish football champions Barcelona on Thursday over alleged tax crimes linked to their signing of Brazilian star striker Neymar.
Prosecutors accuse Barcelona, who currently have a narrow lead at the top of the Spanish league, of irregularities in the 86-million-euro ($118 million) deal — charges which the club denies.
Judge Pablo Ruz at Madrid´s National Court indicted the club after seeing “sufficient evidence to investigate a possible crime against the public treasury”, he said in a written ruling.
The judge ordered tax authorities to hand over the club´s tax returns for 2011 to 2013.He sought to establish whether or not Neymar, who joined Barcelona in May 2013, was counted as a taxpayer in Spain or his native Brazil that year.
The judge also asked tax authorities to provide information about the taxing of deals linked to Neymar´s signing and about how much may have been “defrauded”.
He ordered Neymar´s father, Neymar da Silva Santos, to hand over contracts and documents from various companies linked to the signing.
A court source said separately that the judge had also asked world football´s governing body FIFA to provide information it has about Neymar´s signing.
State prosecutors have alleged that Barcelona owe the taxman nine million euros ($12.5 million) in deals to bring the player to the Spanish champions from Brazilian club Santos.
Prosecutors said on Wednesday that there were “a suspicious number of simulated contracts”.