Former Granada president Quique Pina handed two and a half years for five tax crimes

Spain's National Court has sentenced Quique Pina, the former president of Granada Club de Fútbol, to two and a half years in prison for five tax crimes. The ruling, handed down by the court's Second Section, finds that Pina failed to pay more than €2.8 million in personal income tax between 2012 and 2016. His sister, Elena Pina, has received the same sentence after the court concluded she acted as a necessary collaborator in the fraudulent scheme.

• Quique Pina, Granada CF president between 2009 and 2016, is sentenced to two and a half years in prison, with the same penalty for his sister Elena.
• The National Court finds that he hid more than €2.8 million in income from tax authorities between 2012 and 2016.
• The ruling orders both to jointly repay €2,858,215.20 to Spain's tax agency, plus fines totalling €1.4 million.
• The court highlights the use of shell companies such as Calambur Intermediaciones and Quique Sport to channel the earnings.
• The decision can be appealed before the National Court's Appeals Chamber.

Two and a half years for Quique Pina over €2.8 million income tax fraud

The judges of the National Court's Second Section found that Pina failed to file income tax returns in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, and that the return for 2016 was submitted in March 2018 with figures that did not reflect reality. That declaration came after the former executive had been arrested and after searches were carried out at his home and business premises.

The ruling notes that Pina led Granada from late 2009 until June 2016, a period in which he acted as an administrator, had authority over the club's bank accounts and combined his role with player representation and football club management. The court stresses that this activity was carried out regularly and as his main source of income.

The role of Elena Pina and the shell companies in the tax fraud

The court describes how the former Granada president deployed a careful strategy to conceal the real earnings from his work as a club executive, from his employment relationship with Granada and from his activity as a representative and intermediary in professional football deals. To do so, he used the companies Calambur Intermediaciones, S.L. and Quique Sport, S.L., as well as the cooperation of his sister Elena.

With the intention of securing an illicit tax saving, during the 2012 to 2016 tax years he intentionally hid from the tax authorities the income derived from his economic activity as a football club manager, from his employment relationship with Granada Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. and from his activity as a representative and intermediary in all types of professional footballer contracts.

The ruling explains that Pina argued he had earned no income as a football professional and received no salary from Granada, while the State Attorney's Office maintained the opposite. The court points out that corporate tax is levied at 27 %, whereas personal income tax is at least 47 %, and concludes that the defendant channelled his tax liability through the wrong route in a clear attempt to avoid paying what he owed.

Civil liability and fines: how much Quique Pina must pay back

In financial terms, the National Court has ordered Quique Pina and his sister to jointly pay €2,858,215.20 to Spain's tax agency for the amounts defrauded, on top of fines totalling €1.4 million. The judgment breaks down the missed payments year by year: €524,404.28 in 2012; €195,656.24 in 2013; €645,753.36 in 2014; €441,251.49 in 2015 and €1,051,149.73 in 2016.

The court also applied the mitigating factor of undue delays, acknowledging the excessive length of the proceedings, which helped reduce the final sentence. The decision is not final and can be appealed before the National Court's Appeals Chamber.

Who is Quique Pina and what was his time at Granada CF like?

Quique Pina was president of Granada Club de Fútbol from late 2009 until June 2016, a period that coincided with the Andalusian club's return to La Liga and its consolidation in the Spanish top flight. Alongside his role at the club, Pina built a busy career as an intermediary in player transfers and as a football club manager, the very activity now at the centre of the tax investigation.

The National Court ruling now documents how that dual professional activity, combined with the use of shell companies, allowed him to hide most of his real earnings from the tax authorities across five consecutive tax years.