German court has convicted Bayern Munich, Uli Hoeness of tax evasion on Thursday and sentenced the soccer manager to 3-1/2 years in jail term.
Uli Hoeness,who turned Bayern Munich into one of the world's most successful clubs was convicted and sentenced Thursday. Hoeness's voluntary disclosure - that he had failed to pay taxes - was incomplete and thus did not meet a vital requirement needed for amnesty under German tax laws designed to encourage tax evaders to come clean; prosecutors argued.
Bayern boss has admitted he evaded 27.2 million euros in taxes on income earned in secret Swiss bank accounts but the 62-year-old soccer manager was hoping for leniency in one of the most closely watched tax evasion cases in German history.
German Prosecutors originally charged Hoeness with evading 3.5 million euros in taxes. But on the first day of the trial Hoeness stunned the court by admitting he had actually evaded five times that amount - or 18.5 million euros.
That figure was raised even further to 27.2 million euros on the second day of the trial when a tax inspector testified that the amount was higher.
Hoeness's defence team acknowledged the higher figure too.
The case hinged on the question whether Hoeness, who as a player helped West Germany win the 1974 World Cup, fully cooperated with his voluntary disclosure. It shocked the nation and prompted thousands of tax dodgers to turn themselves in.
Reuters reports that some 55,000 tax evaders have turned themselves in over the last four years and paid a total of about 3.5 billion euros in back taxes, according to the taxpayers association. The number of voluntary disclosures rose four-fold in 2013 from 2012.
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