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Bayern Munich president sentenced to 3.5years in prison

Published

11 years ago

March 13, 2014

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness was found guilty Thursday
and sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for evading millions of euros in
tax through an undeclared Swiss bank account.
Hoeness’ lawyers later announced that they plan to launch an appeal
to Germany’s Federal Court of Justice. They have seven days in
which to do so.
The 62-year-old Hoeness, one of the most powerful figures in
German football, was originally charged with not paying 3.5 million
euros ($4.85 million) in taxes on money held in a Swiss bank account,
but when his trial opened on Monday he admitted avoiding an
additional 15 million euros.
It subsequently emerged through an examination of documents
Hoeness provided to investigators shortly before the trial that he owed
27.2 million euros in total — a figure he did not dispute.
In closing arguments on Thursday, prosecutor Achim von Engel
recommended a five-and-a-half-year jail sentence, saying his
confession had fallen short of full disclosure.
As a player, Hoeness was part of the West Germany side which
won the 1972 European Championship and the World Cup two years
later, and was also a member of the Bayern squad which won three
consecutive European Cups between 1974 and 1976.
On Tuesday, he had been at Bayern’s Allianz Arena to watch the
European champions’ subdued performance in a 1-1 draw with
Arsenal in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie,
although that result was enough to see them progress through to the
quarterfinals 3-1 on aggregate.