Madrid June 12 (IANS) A Spanish prosecutor s office on Monday announced it had indicted a former Yugoslav football player accused of tax fraud.
According to the prosecutor the Montenegro-born former star Predrag Mijatovic stands accused of defrauding Spain s tax office of 189 535 euros ($212 636) during the 2011 tax year.
On May 30 Spain s financial crimes prosecution unit had already filed a complaint against Mijatovic at a Madrid court after a report was forwarded to Madrid s provincial prosecutor by the Spanish tax office.
In his 2011 personal tax return statement Mijatovic declared that his only income was a 50-percent ownership of a tourist property in Mijas (southern Spain).
The prosecution argued that Mijatovic s real income which he omitted from his tax returns stemmed from his activities as an intermediary and adviser in the world of professional football.
Mijatovic popularly known by his nickname Pedja started his career at Buducnost a modest team based in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica.
He later joined Partizan Belgrade (1989-93) before moving to Spain to play for Valencia (1993-96) and Real Madrid (1996-99).
He won Spain s Footballer of the Year award in the 1995-96 season scoring 28 goals in 40 league matches.
Real Madrid won the 1997-98 UEFA Champions League for the seventh time after a 32-year hiatus beating Juventus Turin in May 1998 with Mijatovic scoring the only goal in the final.
He also appeared 73 times for the Yugoslavia national team scoring 28 goals in total.
In 2004 Mijatovic retired and took up residence in the southeastern city of Valencia.
There he began his current stint as an unlicensed soccer player s agent and informal intermediary.
--IANS
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Spanish prosecutor indicts ex-footballer Mijatovic on tax fraud charges
