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Sigur Rós Members Accused Of Tax Evasion

sigur-1.9039518 BYRON BAY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 24: Jonsi Birgisson of Sigur Ros performs during Splendour in the Grass 2016 on July 24, 2016 in Byron Bay, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images) (Mark Metcalfe/Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images)

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Members of Icelandic rock band Sigur Rós were charged Thursday with tax evasion.

Jón þór Birgisson, Georg Hólm, Kjartan Sveinsson and Orri Páll Dýrason are accused of avoiding about $1.7 million (all figures CAD) in taxes between 2011 and 2014.

Pending trial, roughly $8.7 million worth of assets belonging to the musicians have been frozen by authorities.

“The members of Sigur Rós are musicians – not experts on bookkeeping and international finance,” lawyer Bjarnfreður Ólafsson said, in a statement. The band blamed their former accountant.

Income tax in Iceland is as high as 46 per cent.