Cristiano Ronaldo to appear before judge in tax fraud investigation

Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo is scheduled to appear before a Spanish judge as part of an investigation to determine whether the Portugal forward committed tax fraud.

Ronaldo has been summoned to appear in a court on the outskirts of Madrid at 11:30 a.m. local time (9:30 GMT) on Monday. The session with the investigating judge will be closed to the public.

The judge will take Ronaldo's testimony as part of an investigation to determine if there are grounds to charge him. A state prosecutor last month accused Ronaldo of four counts of tax fraud from 2011-14 worth 14.7 million euros ($16.5 million).

The prosecutor accuses Ronaldo of having used shell companies outside Spain to hide income made from image rights. The accusation does not involve his salary from Real Madrid.