Embattled Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness, at the centre of a tax evasion scandal, first came into the crosshair of authorities in the middle of last year when his name appeared on a CD listing Germans with Swiss bank accounts, a report said on Sunday.
German tax investigators have repeatedly launched nationwide raids in recent years against hundreds of suspected tax dodgers, based on data on Swiss bank account holders listed on computer disks the authorities purchased from unknown sources.
Hoeness’ name and details were on a disk bought by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in August 2012 and passed on to Munich investigators in the southern state of Bavaria, where the 61-year-old football legend lives, the news weekly Focus reported.
However, the tipoff did not trigger an immediate investigation, it said.
The probe started only about half a year later when Hoeness turned himself in this January, hoping to have to pay only a one-off fine without criminal prosecution, the report said.
Spiegel news weekly meanwhile reported that Hoeness turned himself in after his Swiss bank informed him in January that a journalist from another news magazine, Stern, had phoned and had asked questions about a “well-known sports figure.”
Hoeness is reported to have been briefly arrested last month during a search of his home, then released on bail of five million euros ($6.5 million) as part of the investigation.
In its latest edition, Focus reported that investigators also tapped Hoeness’ phone and, on March 20 when they raided his home, also searched his office at the football club for three hours.
Since the scandal broke, fuelling a national election-year debate about tax evasion, there have been calls for him to resign, and reports on Friday suggest Bayern’s executive board are considering asking him to step down until the investigation is concluded.
Bayern Munich's Hoeness 'was on Swiss tax CD'
