MUNICH: Bayern president Uli Hoeness will know his fate tomorrow.

The open session of the third day of his tax evasion trial in Munich lasted only 70 minutes; the remainder of the court’s time was taken up in studying the complex documentation concerning his various bank accounts in Switzerland and Germany.

Judge Rupert Heindl is expected to deliver sentence tomorrow/Thursday. The 64-year-old former World Cup-winner has the right of appeal.

Hoeness, the most powerful man in German football and a major public figure, has admitted having concealed millions of euro from the German tax office.

His defence team claims that any punishment should be mitigated by his voluntary disclosure and repayment of more than €3m. The prosecution has countered that the sums involved are so vast only a substantial prison sentence would serve the cause of justice.

Earlier in the trial tax investigator Gabriele Hamberger had offered what she described as a conservative estimate that Hoeness’s correct tax liability was around €27m.

The third day of the trial, which began on Monday, heard evidence from two witnesses, at IT expert and a German tax auditor. Their statements ratified earlier evidence that Hoeness had played the stock market not only through his account with the Swiss Vontobel bank but also in Germany.

#############