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Journalism of Courage
MANNHEIM, June 13: A tax evasion investigation against tennis star Steffi Graf has been officially dropped, the chief investigator for the case told a Mannheim radio station today.
Chief district attorney Hubert Jobski said Graf, formerly the world’s top-ranked player, has agreed to pay $ 760,000 to the State and to charitable causes.
There has never been any strong evidence of wrongdoing by Graf.But Jobski said “If we agree to a dismissal against payment, it does not mean we believe those involved are innocent.”
The investigation grew out of father Peter Graf’s January 27 conviction of evading $ 7.3 million in taxes on his daughter’s earnings from 1989-1993, and attempting to evade paying another $ 1.8 million.
The presiding judge at the trial, Joachim Plass, had recommended the investigation of Steffi Graf be dropped, saying there was no evidence she had played “an active part” in the tax evasion.
