Sep 17, 2009 12:30 PM PDT    Text size: 

News of Siffredi’s tax predicament broke today and has made the rounds of international news services. Siffredi is accused of concealing roughly $442,500 in income from the treasury by setting up fictitious companies in tax havens.

According to published reports, Siffredi was a resident of Chieti, Italy until 2005 before transferring his residence to Rome where he set up a company after which he relocated to Budapest, Hungary — his wife’s native country.

That move is being contested by Italy’s financial police, who allege that the center of Siffredi’s economic activity is still in Italy based on his purchases of cars and expensive motorcycles.

Evil Angel General Manager Christian Mann was able to reach Siffredi, who is currently shooting in the U.S., by phone.

"I personally spoke to Rocco this afternoon," Mann said. "Rocco’s statement is that he is aware of the investigation, as is his lawyer in Europe. There are many celebrities in Italy who are under investigation for tax issues because the government is encouraging the citizenry to take advantage of a tax amnesty program by using well known figures as 'examples.' Rocco indicated that his lawyer is not unduly concerned and that an investigation in and of itself isn’t evidence of anything illegal. Rocco added that his residence is in Hungary and any allegations to the contrary are simply false."

According to Italian law, if the amount of Siffredi’s alleged undeclared income surpasses a certain threshold it would trigger a criminal investigation.

There are approximately 130 people caught up in this financial sting conducted by the Guardia di Finanza, the Italian financial police, of former residents of Chieti who relocated.

Siffredi currently is shooting in the U.S. on a rare trip to the States.