Former Premier League player John Carew has been jailed for 14 months for tax evasion after he unintentionally failed to disclose his income at the Oslo District Court.
In addition, Carew has also been handed a fine of £45,353 for tax fraud totalling £456,264 back in his native Norway.
If the court had found Carew of intentionally committing the crimes, his sentence would have been doubled.
Carew previously pleaded guilty to the charges brought by the Norwegian tax authority, with defence attorney Berit Reiss-Andersen stating this case should have been handled as a confession case as he confessed to the crime whilst stating that he did not commit the criminal activities on purpose.
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The 43-year-old’s lawyer believes that the ruling should be looked at as a victory. Andersen said in a statement via Norwegian news outlet e24: “This shows that John Carew is believed on all counts.
“The court has concluded that he has acted grossly negligently, but not with intent. We have claimed this all along, and Carew has been clear that he has wanted to make amends.”
Carew claimed that he received poor advice from friend, lawyer and former agent Per A. Flod.
He said: “I trusted him blindly. I have been convinced that he was right. He controlled me almost like a puppet.
“I understand that it is grossly negligent of me to trust him so much, but that is why I have done it.”
During a career that spanned 15 years, Carew played for some of the biggest clubs in European football including the likes of Valencia, Roma, Lyon and Besiktas.
In his time in English football, he played at Aston Villa for four years, was then sent on loan to Stoke for half a season before spending one year with West Ham.
In 492 club appearances, Carew managed a total of 173 goals.
On the international stage, Carew represented Norway 91 times and scored 24 goals. He was named Norwegian footballer of the year three times between 2005 and 2008.
Topics: Premier League, Aston Villa, Norway
Marcus Chan