2023-09-15 12:21:19
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Josep SantacanaMIKEL TRIGUEROS (CORDON PRESS)
The trial for asset seizure against former tennis player Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and her ex-husband, Josep Santacana, has begun. They are accused of hide or decapitalize your assets in order not to pay a million-dollar debt with the Bank of Luxembourg that the athlete contracted to solve her problems with the Treasury. The case has caused enormous expectation, especially due to the statements she made in the first session of the trial that began this Tuesday, September 12. “I wanted to pay, but he told me no, that better than paying the bank it was for us to have the money. I trusted him. I regret it,” she said through tears during the first session, which is held in the City of Justice in Barcelona.
The Prosecutor’s Office requests a sentence of four years in prison against the player and her ex-husband for an alleged crime of confiscation of assets. The financial maneuvers that, according to the prosecutor, the then-married couple used to avoid paying the debt to the bank could land the successful tennis player in jail.
The main argument of Sánchez Vicario’s defense is that she simply He just did what his spouse told him. She has also acknowledged the facts and has shown remorse. For her part, Santacana denies the facts and is scheduled to testify on Friday.
But what are the consequences of these statements? Will they serve to reduce the sentence? These are some questions and answers about the case.
What is Arantxa Sánchez Vicario accused of?
The triple winner of Roland Garros is accused of removing assets. The Prosecutor’s Office accuses her and her ex-husband of devising a plan to decapitalize your assets and avoid paying a debt to the bank.
As Rocío Fernández, partner and head of the litigation and litigation area, points out. compliance criminal conduct of DIKEI Abogados, criminal conduct includes the seizure of assets to the detriment of creditors and punishes anyone who, for this purpose, carries out any act of asset disposal or generates obligations that delay, make difficult or prevent an embargo or executive procedure.
It also persecutes anyone who carries out disposition acts or contracts obligations that reduce their assets or hide them by any means in order to avoid paying civil liabilities derived from a crime for which they must respond.
What are the penalties for the crime of taking property?
The penalties for confiscation of property are one to four years in prison and a fine of 12 to 24 months, in its basic form. In addition, the judge may impose a fine whose amount will be specified in the sentence, taking into account the economic capacity of the convicted person and the payment requests raised by the prosecution.
If the debt that is intended to be avoided is owed to the Treasury, Social Security or any public entity, it would be an aggravating circumstance, and the penalty could be increased to six years in prison.
Within the margins established by law for this type of crime, the highest penalty will be imposed if the amount defrauded exceeds 50,000 eurosif any situation of abuse is detected in the personal relationships between the victim and the fraudster or if the convicted person has taken advantage of the business or professional credibility of the victim.
Can Arantxa’s sentence be reduced if it is shown that she has followed her husband’s advice?
Lawyer Rocío Fernández sees this line of defense as difficult. “From my point of view, it is an exculpatory version that must be proven with the evidence presented at trial, but first, complicated. It would have to be proven that she was totally unrelated, and that is not the case, because what she has recognized is that she was aware that she had a debt and that she allowed herself to be advised by her ex-husband regarding her non-payment,” explains the lawyer
The expert maintains that this argument would demonstrate that she did have some knowledge regarding her obligations to the bank. From this it can be deduced that she was also able to know that said commitments with the entity were not being met.
The key will be, the lawyer points out, in the evidence that is performed at the trial to determine the level of knowledge and consent of the tennis player.
What mitigating factors could be applied?
Arantxa’s situation is not simple. But if he is finally convicted, it could benefit him if the court considers some mitigating circumstance, which could result in a reduction of the sentence.
Some of these mitigating factors could be the recognition of the facts and the collaboration that can be provided in the investigation to clarify them. Other mitigating factors that could be applied in your favor are repentance and repair of damage, if it is actually proven that you are trying to pay the debt. If several of them are found, the sentence could be less than two years in prison, opening the door to a suspension of the sentence.
What relevance do the means used to commit the crime have?
The Prosecutor’s Office also accuses the couple of having devised a plan to frustrate the collection of the million-dollar debt with the bank and using front men and trusted people to carry it out. Would this mean an increase in sentence?
According to the lawyer, this would not happen. “The sophistication in the means used to evade compliance with payment obligations is not expressly contemplated,” says the expert, who recalls that the crime of confiscation of assets occurs when the debtor knows that he has to pay a debt, but He chooses to hide his assets to appear insolvent and not pay it.
What would increase the penalty is the amount of the debt that has been attempted not to be paid: the threshold is 50 thousand euros or more.
Could Arantxa Sánchez Vicario go to prison?
With the law in hand, the tennis player would go to jail if she is sentenced to a sentence of more than two years in prison. Now, if the sentence does not exceed two years in prison, Spanish laws allow the court, exceptionally, may suspend the execution of the sentence.
To make this decision, it will assess circumstances such as the seriousness of the crime, the situation of the tennis player, her background and the probability that she will become a repeat offender. Family circumstances and the effort to repair the damage (she has to pay what she owed in a reasonable time, according to her economic capacity) are other factors that are studied to decide on the suspension.
The Five Day agenda
The most important economic quotes of the day, with the keys and context to understand their scope.
RECEIVE IT IN YOUR MAIL
#wanted #pay #told #Arantxa #Sánchez #Vicario #jail #stealing #assets #Rights #Economy