Ronaldo leaves Spain court after testimony on alleged tax fraud

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo left a court near the Spanish capital on Monday after giving a 90-minute testimony in response to a state prosecution accusation that he has defrauded the tax office of 14 million euros ($16.42m).

The Real Madrid superstar entered the courthouse in the upscale town of Pozuelo de Alarcon, just outside of Madrid, shortly before 11 a.m. on Monday morning and began giving his testimony at 11:30 a.m., reports Efe.

An hour and a half later, Ronaldo concluded the testimony he gave before Judge Monica Gomez Ferrer and in the presence of his lawyer.

Ronaldo left the court through the garage door, the same way he entered, to avoid the media scrum gathered outside the court.

Hundreds of journalists from over 15 different countries and around 40 TV cameras descended on the town in anticipation of catching a glimpse of the soccer legend.

The Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor accused the Portugal international of creating a corporate structure to defraud 14.7 million euros ($17.25m) in a "conscious and voluntary" manner.

Ronaldo is under investigation for four alleged crimes against the public treasury committed between 2011 and 2014.

He had previously denied the allegations.

Ronaldo is the latest in a long line of Spain-based soccer players to be probed over irregular finances and unpaid taxes.

--IANS

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