Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar fined USD 1.2 million over tax evasion

London: Paris-Saint Germain (PSG) star striker Neymar has been fined 1.2 million USD by a Brazil court for attempting to obstruct the continuity of a tax-evasion case.

Neymar, who made a move of worth 200 million pounds from Barcelona to PSG, saw the sanction imposed by the Third Room of the Federal Regional Court of the Third Region of Brazil.

During the hearing, prosecutors said that the Brazilian striker escaped paying all of his taxes in full by using three family-run image-rights companies to divert his income.

As a result, Neymar had paid a lower tax rate (15-25 per cent) than he otherwise would have (27.5 per cent), the Mirror reported.

Hitting Neymar with the fine of 9,00,000 pounds, Judge Carlos Muta said that the players' conduct throughout the case "violates the dignity of justice".

The judge further said that Neymar and his lawyer acted in "bad faith" by using appeal processes to delay a final judgment.

Neymar has been accused of helping to conceal the true transfer fee of his move from Santos to Barcelona in June 2013.

The case came into light when a complaint was filed by Brazilian supermarket firm DIS, which owned 40 per cent of Neymar's transfer rights.

The investment group claimed that it had received less money than it was entitled to when Neymar joined Barcelona from Santos for 49 million pounds in 2013.