Uli Hoeness

Uli Hoeness said yesterday he would accept a 3-1/2 -year prison term for evading €27 million in taxes and would step down as president and business chairman of Bayern Munich.

“After discussions with my family I have decided to accept the ruling of the Munich court on my tax affairs. This befits my understanding of decency, dignity and personal responsibility,” he said.

“Tax evasion was the biggest mistake of my life.”

Judge Rupert Heindl ruled on Thursday that Hoeness’s voluntary disclosure of tax evasion was incomplete and therefore did not meet a vital requirement for amnesty laws designed to encourage tax dodgers to come clean.

Hoeness, 62, had admitted evading taxes on income earned in secret Swiss bank accounts, but had hoped for leniency in one of the most closely watched tax evasion cases in German history.

The case hinged on the question of whether Hoeness co-operated fully with his voluntary disclosure. His case shocked the nation and prompted thousands of tax dodgers to turn themselves in.

Hoeness was first charged with evading €3.5 million in taxes. But when the trial began on Monday he stunned the court by admitting he had actually evaded five times that amount − or €18.5 million .

That figure was raised further to €27.2 million on the second day of the trial based on testimony by a tax inspector. Hoeness’s defence team acknowledged the higher figure.

Hoeness said he would step down from his positions with the club in order to spare Bayern Munich, a team which last year won the Champions League and which dominates the Bundesliga, any damage.

The club’s earnings have soared under his stewardship, which has lasted 35 years in various posts. With more than 220,000 members, it is one of the world’s biggest clubs.

Bayern Munich named Herbert Hainer, the CEO of Adidas, to replace Hoeness as chairman of the supervisory board and club president.