Ben Yedder handed suspended six-month jail term and bumper fine for tax evasion
Wissam Ben Yedder had three years at Sevilla, but there was unfinished business off the pitch as a Spanish court penalised him on Tuesday.
France international Wissam Ben Yedder was sentenced to six months and one day in prison and fined €133,798 by a Spanish court on Tuesday for tax evasion.
The 32-year-old forward has had the prison sentence suspended, with the offence dating back to his time playing in Spain.
Ben Yedder spent three seasons at Sevilla, arriving from Toulouse in July 2016 and leaving to join Monaco in August 2019.
A ruling from the Provincial Court of Seville, dated March 9, was released and outlined how Ben Yedder failed to submit an income tax return on time and "consciously falsified" a self-assessment by not declaring interest he received as income in three accounts, also not declaring earnings from a sponsorship deal with Adidas.
The court said Ben Yedder paid €225,323.25 initially and later added a payment of €51,007.41 to cover for what was found to be the shortfall, plus interest, once it was discovered he should have paid €267,597.40.
The fine imposed on Ben Yedder, agreed by all parties, amounts to 50 per cent of the total described by the court as the "defrauded fee".
The prison element of the punishment has been suspended for two years, conditional on him not reoffending.
"In view of the imposed sentence of six months and one day in prison and the lack of a criminal record, together with the fact of having satisfied civil responsibilities, it is appropriate to agree to the suspension," the court stated.
