Spain's prosecutor has requested the National Court "open a trial against Barcelona," current President Josep Bartomeu and his predecessor, Sandro Rosell, for "alleged tax evasion, including in the signing of Brazil striker Neymar," according to the AP. In a statement released on Monday, the prosecutor called for "jail terms of more than two years for Bartomeu" and more than seven years for Rosell, "as well as the imposition of large fines." The prosecutor called for the club to be fined $24M for allegedly false accounting in the tax returns of '11, '13 and '14. Investigating judge Pablo Ruz had on March 13 named Bartomeu and Rosell in a "tax fraud and fraudulent administration probe into the signing of the 2013 signing of the Brazil star, alleging the club and its management fabricated a labyrinth of contracts to conceal the real cost of the signing." A court statement said its investigation indicated that the "alleged web of contracts included seven that were signed between Barcelona and companies owned by Neymar's father and agent, also named Neymar Da Silva Santos." The statement said, "These seven contracts were designed with different ends, but taken together they were used to cover up or hide the higher cost of the player's transfer for FCB. All of them also had the goal of eluding or lowering payments to the Tax Office in a surreptitious manner." Barcelona denied that "a criminal offence has been committed" and said in a statement that it would appeal Ruz's decision once it received "formal notification of his ruling" (AP, 3/23).
