PARIS: French investigators have raided the offices of Paris Saint-Germain and the homes of star players Angel Di Maria and Javier Pastore in the latest action concerning tax evasion allegations writes KEIR RADNEDGE.

This followed up on revelations from the Football Leaks investigations undertaken by a consortium of 12 European media outlets.

Also named as subjects of investigations have been Real Madrid’s Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester Unitred’s France midfielder Paul Pogba. Representatives of both have denied any wrongdoing.

The French National Financial Office opened a preliminary investigation on December 12 “laundering of aggravated tax evasion”, stating that its investigations were likely to concern French tax residents.

Any resident, regardless of nationality, is liable to pay tax in France if he or she carries on business there, receives an income or spends at least half of the year in the territory.

According to Football Leaks, some of the revenues of Di Maria and Pastore were diverted to tax havens.

According to a document published on May 10 by Mediapart, the Parisian club signed a contract in August 2015 with an offshore company in Panama, managing the image rights of Di Maria. The contract stipulates that the club receives a share of the money paid by the brands and sponsors, according to the information site.

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