Neymar to stand trial on corruption charges

Neymar to stand trial on corruption charges. February. 22, 2017 07:40. by Seung-Kun Lee why@donga.com. Top Brazilian soccer player Neymar of FC Barcelona will stand trial on fraud charges. British public service broadcaster BBC reported on Monday that Neymar will stand trial on charges of fraud relating to the reduction of his transfer fee.

The case relates to a complaint from Brazilian investment group DIS, which owned 40 percent of Neymar’s transfer rights. The group claimed that it received less money than it was entitled to when Neymar joined Barcelona from Santos in 2013. It said Neymar informed the group that his transfer fee was 49 million pounds (about 69.9billion won), resulting in reducing profits of the group. When prosecutors first brought charges against him, a Spanish court rejected a criminal case but left the possibility of civil proceeding after finding irregularities of the deal. The court reopened the trial in last November when prosecutors appealed against the decision. Spanish prosecutors are seeking a two-year prison sentence and a fine of 8 million pounds (about 11.4 billion won) for Neymar and 7.2 million pounds (about 10.3 billion won) for Barcelona.

Even if Neymar were found guilty he would be unlikely to go to jail. Under the Spanish legal system, prison terms of under two years are typically suspended for first-time offenders.