Brasilia (AFP)
A Brazilian judge has preemptively suspended Neymar's payment of a fine of 88 million reais, around 14.7 million euros, to the tax authorities for irregularities, notably in connection with his transfer to Barcelona in 2013.
The decision of the judge of first instance of a court of Santos (State of São Paulo), Décio Gabriel Giménez, suspends the payment of this fine "until further notice", on the grounds that the amount due by the star of Paris Saint -Germain is not clearly established.
According to the Brazilian press, the decision has already been appealed by the Brazilian state.
In September 2015, the Brazilian Treasury had frozen 188.8 million reais (around 43 million euros at the exchange rate at the time) of the player's assets, due to unpaid taxes linked to the affected image rights from 2011 to 2013, his last years with his training club in Santos before joining Barça.
In 2017, Neymar had obtained a considerable reduction in the fine after a decision of the Administrative Council for Tax Appeals (CARF), a body linked to the Ministry of the Economy, which had quashed two convictions linked to irregularities in the payment of taxes on player sponsorship contracts, through two companies created by his father.
Three other convictions were maintained in 2017, concerning the image rights paid by Santos as a salary supplement and, moreover, the 10 million euros disbursed by FC Barcelona in 2011 for the benefit of a company of the Neymar's family, N&N Consultoria, as "loan".
This amount had been considered as an advance paid by the Catalan club to ensure priority over a future transfer, finally concluded in 2013.
Neymar had agreed to pay a fine of 2.1 million euros but the Brazilian Treasury had announced in 2018 that it actually owed about 16 million, still according to the exchange rate of the time (14.7 M EUR according to the current exchange rate).
The transfer of the Brazilian from Santos to Barça is marred by numerous irregularities according to Spanish justice, which has prosecuted Neymar and Barça for "fraud" and "corruption".
Barça had officially estimated the transfer of the player from the Brazilian club of Santos to 57.1 million euros: 40 million for the family of Neymar, 17.1 for Santos. But according to Spanish justice, it actually cost at least 83.3 million.
© 2020 AFP