Barcelona's Lionel Messi is a "further step closer to being tried for tax fraud after the city's highest court rejected his latest appeal which claimed the player should not be punished as he was not aware" of how his tax affairs were being organized, according to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN. Lionel and his father Jorge Messi both appeared in court in the Catalan town of Gava in Sept. '13, and their lawyers have "since been taking a number of steps to try and avoid" Messi being formally charged with an offense. The latest ruling, made by the Barcelona Provincial High Court, has "found that Messi Jr. should stand trial over allegations that he benefitted from the network of companies which were established to deal with his financial affairs." It upholds a lower court ruling from last October that the player can "be held responsible for any tax avoided in this way," but the ruling does not enter into whether the now 27-year-old was "aware of what was being done in his name in the past." Since news of the issue broke during summer '13 the Messis have reportedly paid €5M to the authorities, to cover money owed from the '07-09 period, plus interest. They are "also reported to have paid" €10M in taxes due on such income for '10 and '11. It was "hoped this would lead to criminal charges being dropped, and the public prosecutor's office had reportedly supported Messi's appeal believing this version of events." However, the Madrid-based central tax office has "continued to push the case" (ESPN, 6/10).
