Ex-Premier League star John Carew jailed for 14 months for tax evasion

Retired Premier League striker will pay a fine of 36 million Naira and spend 14 months in jail

Former Premier League striker John Carew has been sentenced to 14 months in jail for tax evasion crimes.

The former Aston Villa player and Norwegian international unintentionally failed to disclose his income at the Oslo District Court which led to the sentencing.

The 43-year-old has also been hit with a hefty fine of £45,353 (36 million Naira) for tax fraud totaling £456,264 (370 million) back in his home country of Norway.

Carew's sentence could have been doubled if the court found that the former Premier League star acted intentionally in avoiding paying his taxes.

Should Carew have acted intentionally in committing tax fraud between 2017 and 2019, prosecutors reportedly believed an appropriate punishment for Carew would have been a prison sentence of around two years and seven months, while his defendants wanted a community punishment.

In the 38-page judgment, the court concluded that Carew acted 'grossly negligently' but believes that it cannot be proven beyond reasonable doubt that the 43-year-old provided incorrect information to the Norwegian tax authorities.

“According to the evidence presented, the court cannot see that there is a cover for Carew's decision not to disclose his income and assets, even if the description of the offence was thereby fulfilled,” district court judge Ingvild Boe Hornburg said in the judgement.

“In the court's view, there is nothing in the evidence that supports such a hypothesis,” the judge said.

Carew played five seasons in the English Premier League all on the books of Aston Villa including a short loan spell at Stoke City, he played 123 games in total and scored 38 goals.

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