Real Premier League fans would remember John Carew, the former Aston Villa forward is off to jail for 14 months.
The 43-year-old plead guilty to charges of tax evasion at an Oslo District court in Norway after failing to report taxable income and assets of around £26.7m between 2014 and 2019.
Carew claimed he didn’t need to pay tax in Norway as he was living abroad at the time. However, prosecutors provided evidence showing he was actually in Norway for more than 183 days a year during that time, which would make him tax eligible.
He was also hit with a £46,000 fine in addition to his sentencing.
In the 38-page judgment, the court concluded that Carew acted ‘grossly negligently’ but believes that it cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt that he provided incorrect information to the Norwegian tax authorities.
“According to the evidence presented, the court cannot see that there is a cover for Carew’s decision not to disclose his income and assets, even if the description of the offence was thereby fulfilled,” district court judge Ingvild Boe Hornburg said in the judgement. “In the court’s view, there is nothing in the evidence that supports such a hypothesis.”
The former striker, who retired back in 2012, made nearly 500 appearances for nine clubs during his career, including Valencia, Roma, Lyon, Stoke and West Ham.
He also made 91 international appearances for Norway, scoring 24 goals.
