Connect with us

Crime

Samuel Eto’o Escapes Jail Term in Spain

Published

on

Former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o has escaped a jail term for fraud after he was handed a 22-month suspended prison sentence.

The ex-Cameroon international pleaded guilty to tax offences at Barcelona Criminal Court, to the tune of just shy of €3.9 million (£3.3m/$4.1m) in relation to a failure to declare income from his image rights between 2006 and 2009.

Eto’o has been ordered to pay a sum of four fines in response, around the sum of €1.8m (£1.6m/$1.9m), but has avoided an immediate jail term in part due to his prior clean record and because he has already returned some of the defrauded money.

Advertisement

The former attacker – a quadruple Champions League winner with three clubs, who enjoyed prolific spells in Spain, Italy, England and Turkey – accepted the charges while stating that he had been misled by his former advisor Jose Maria Mesalles, against whom he has launched a separate lawsuit.

Eto’o alleges that the mismanagement of his finances – which saw the player’s image rights between sportswear giant Puma and Barcelona go undeclared through the use of two external companies in Hungary and Spain – came at the latter’s instigation, to whom the player previously described as a “father figure”.

“I recognise the facts and I am going to pay, but let it be known that I was a child then and that I always did what my father asked me to do,” the 41-year-old read in a statement in court, per Sport.

Advertisement

Eto’o is not the only individual to be indicted and plead guilty, with Mesalles also handed a suspended sentence of a year for his part in committing the fraud.

A third individual – Jesus Lastre, the administrator of the Hungarian-based company – was meanwhile acquitted on all charges.

It remains to be seen whether Eto’o will be forced to stand down from the office of President of the Cameroonian Football Federation following his conviction.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Crime

Police Foil Cult Initiation in Anambra, Arrest Six Suspects

Published

on

The Anambra State Police Command has foiled a cult initiation ceremony in Nawfia, Njikoka Local Government Area of the state.

Spokesperson for the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Awka.

According to Ikenga, the operation was carried out by police operatives around 9:30am on June 15, leading to the arrest of six suspects at the scene.

Advertisement

Recovered during the raid were one Jojef pump action gun, two cartridges, and a golden-coloured Lexus SUV with registration number ATN 202 AE. Other items found include two cutlasses, two scissors, a cap bearing the inscription of the Supreme Vikings Confraternity, charms, and substances suspected to be hard drugs.

“They are currently undergoing police interrogation to get more insight into their modus operandi, after which the case will be charged to court on the conclusion of the investigations,” Ikenga stated.

The police spokesperson reassured residents of the command’s unwavering commitment to fighting cultism and other related crimes across the state.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Crime

Court remands 2 over alleged attempted murder

Published

on

Court discharges man accused of burning father’s house in Abuja

An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday, remanded two persons, Olaitan Fasasi and Kehinde Tobiloba in a correctional facility over alleged attempted murder.

Fasasi, 40, and Tobiloba, 26, whose addresses were not provided, are being charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and membership of a secret society.

The Magistrate, Mr L.A Owolabi, did not take the plea of the defendants for want of jurisdiction.

Advertisement

Owolabi directed the police to forward the case file to the Director of Public Prosecution for legal advice.

He thereafter adjourned the case until May 31 for mention.

The Prosecutor, Josephine Ikhayere, told the court that the defendants committed the offences at about 5.02p.m on Feb. 15, at Mushin, Lagos.

Advertisement

She said that Fasasi, Tobiloba and others now at large, attempted to commit murder by shooting at a resident, Alfred Ademola.

“They armed themselves with a locally made gun. They belong to Eiye Confraternity, a group proscribed by law,”, she said.

Ikhayere said that the offences contravened Sections 230(1) and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2012.

Advertisement

He said that the actions of the defendants also contravened Section 2(3)(a)(b)(c)(d) of the unlawful societies and Cultism Law of Lagos State Law.

Continue Reading

Crime

Man jailed 3 months for stealing mobile phone

Published

on

An Area Court in Jos, on Tuesday, sentenced one Jeptha John, to three months imprisonment for stealing a Redmi mobile phone valued at N165, 000.

The judge, Shawomi Bokkos, sentenced the John after he pleaded guilty to the offence.

The judge, however, gave the convict an option to pay N20, 000 fine and N50, 000 restitution to the complainant.

Advertisement

Bokkos said that if the convict defaulted in paying the restitution, three months should be added to his sentence to make it six months imprisonment.

Earlier, the police prosecutor, Insp Monday Dabit, told the court that the case was reported at the B Division Police Station, Jos, on Dec.  1, 2024, by Ms Nerat Danjuma.

He said that the complainant alleged that the defendant trespassed into her house and stole her mobile phone valued at N165, 000.

Advertisement

The prosecutor further told the court that the offence contravened the Plateau State Penal Code, Law of Northern Nigeria.

Continue Reading

You May Like

Copyright © 2025 Acces News Magazine - All Right Reserved.

Verified by MonsterInsights