Former footballer John Carew scored plenty of goals in his career as a striker, but perhaps he has also scored an unfair financial gain.
In any case, he has been charged by Norwegian Økokrim with gross tax evasion. This is cheating for 5.4 million Norwegian kroner – approximately 4.1 million Danish kroner – according to the indictment.
– This is a serious case because it involves tax evasion over many years of a significant amount, says State Attorney Marianne Bender.
More specifically, he is accused of gross negligent tax fraud in the years 2014-2016, while for the period 2017-19 he is accused of gross intentional tax evasion.
Økokrim believes that Carew has in total failed to declare a taxable income of almost ten million Danish kroner and a fortune of approximately 237 million Danish kroner.
42-year-old Carew denies only parts of what he is accused of. He denies having done anything illegal intentionally.
– I am aware that I have an independent responsibility to provide correct information, but I have been surrounded by counselors and a support staff since I was quite young.
– I probably know more about football and real estate investments than about complex tax legislation for people living abroad, Carew says.
However, he is ready to take the consequence of what he may have done wrong.
– I have all my life been preoccupied with what is right and wrong. If I’ve done something wrong, I’ve always made amends. I want to do the same this time, he says.
During his active career, he was employed by the clubs Valencia, Roma, Lyon and Aston Villa, among others. On Norway’s national team, he scored 24 goals in 91 matches.
Last year, it was also revealed that he will play the character Benny in a Norwegian version of the ‘Olsen gang’.