The Andorran justice system is investigating the alleged smuggling for the sale of high-end watches that were purchased by several prominent professional footballers linked to Spanish football. The company under scrutiny is called Best In Asociados, which marketed those luxury items without paying taxes, according to the newspaper El Mundo.
A recent report by the newspaper Sport also confirmed that the list of the company’s clients, whose activity was seen as criminal, includes Santi Cazorla, Dani Carvajal, César Azpilicueta, David Silva, Juan Bernat, Thomas Partey, and Argentine Giovani Lo Celso, current Betis player and a regular call-up by Lionel Scaloni to the Argentina national team, who is nevertheless at serious risk of missing the World Cup because of a season plagued by injuries.
The judge in charge of the case requested Spain’s cooperation to question the resident suspects, including the footballers who bought the watches, as well as seven Spanish individuals or companies that sold the watches to the Andorran firm, which then resold them to these players.
According to El Mundo, the accounts given by some of the footballers who came under judicial scrutiny in this case agree that after negotiating with the Andorran company of “Diego G.C.,” he would take care of the unpaid VAT on the purchase of the watch. The businessman admitted responsibility for not declaring or paying the import VAT at Spanish customs.
The players listed as buyers in the records of the Andorran Prosecutor’s Office and now also of Spain’s Civil Guard are expected to be called to testify starting next week, according to the EFE news agency.