Dutch newspaper accuses Machlas of tax fraud

15 May: The Dutch Fiscal Investigation Department (FIOD) is currently investigating the contract Nikos Machlas had with Vitesse, before he joined Ajax in 1999. Major Dutch newspaper, Algemeen Dagblad (AD), claims that Machlas had a 'double contract' with the Arnhem Eredivisie club, a construction designed to avoid tax charges on the large part of his income.

According to the newspaper, research showed that large sums of money were paid to a Virgin Islands based private partnership. The amount of money involved is said to be multiple times Machlas' official salary. The partnership is called Diego Trading, and is said to be registered under Machlas' name.

In a first reaction to the accusations, Machlas' attorney states that the FIOD only interrogated Machlas as a witness in February of this year, during the investigation of possible tax fraud by Vitesse and its former chairman, Karel Aalbers. The attorney stresses that Machlas was never under suspicion of any irregularities. (MP)

Source: NOS TeleTekst