Brazil court freezes Neymar assets worth $47 million over tax probe

A Brazilian court on Friday froze $47 million in assets belonging to football superstar Neymar over tax evasion allegations surrounding the Barcelona striker.

Judge Carlos Muta wrote in a ruling that Neymar had been subjected to a “special fine” concerning alleged unpaid taxes between 2011 and 2013.

“I confirm that a special fine of 150 percent was applied… requiring payment of 188,820,129,25 reals ($47.3 million), of which 63,591,796 relate to income tax and the rest to fines and interest, with regard to events that took place in the calendar years from 2011 to 2013,” Muta wrote.