Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario Faces Potential Four-Year Prison Term

Prosecutors in Barcelona have asked for a four-year prison term for former Spanish tennis star Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, writes Xinhua news service out of Madrid.

Sanchez-Vicario, who won 14 major titles in singles and doubles and four Olympic medals, is accused along with her former husband Josep Santacana of hiding assets in order to prevent the Bank of Luxembourg from collecting a debt.

Prosecutors also asked for Sanchez Vicario and Santacana to pay 6.1 million euros in compensation, arguing that the pair “devised a plan” to “frustrate” the collection of the debt to the bank by emptying their current accounts, charging “opaquely” for interviews and getting rid of real estate assets.

However, the indictment highlights that the former tennis star always “acted under the instructions of her husband,” who used his associates to set up front companies to manage the sale of their properties, before then liquidating the companies.

This is not the first time Sanchez-Vicario has had legal problems after found guilty of tax evasion by the Spanish Treasury in 2009, although she claimed her parents had handled all of her economic affairs and in 2012 reached an out of court settlement with her father and elder brother over the mismanagement of her finances.