The singer-performer has been accused of defrauding the Spanish tax office out of 14.5 million euros ($14.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014.
Colombian pop singer Shakira is likely to get a 8-year jail term in Spain for tax fraud. The singer-performer has been accused of defrauding the Spanish tax office out of 14.5 million euros ($14.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014.
As per reports, the singer was offered a deal by the Spanish prosecutor but opted to go to trial instead of accepting it to settle allegations. Shakira “trusts her innocence and chooses to leave the issue in the hands of the law,” a PR statement mentioned. However, the details are not available on the deal that the prosecutors offered. No date for the trial has been set.
The case is related to Barcellona where she lived 2012-14 with her partner Barcelona soccer star Gerard Pique. Recently, they ended their 11-year relationship.
Prosecutors alleged Shakira moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with Pique became public but maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.
On Wednesday, the star slammed the “complete violation of her rights” and “abusive methods” carried out by the prosecutor’s office. She claimed prosecutors were “insisting on claiming money earned during my international tours and the show ‘The Voice'” on which she was a judge in the United States, when she was “not yet resident in Spain”.
Shakira was on the singing competition show between 2013 and 2014. Her lawyers say that until 2014 she earned most of her money from international tours, moved to Spain full time only in 2015 and has met all tax obligations.
Her public relations firm also said she has deposited the amount she is said to owe with the Spanish Tax Agency and has no pending tax debts.
Shakira was named in one of the largest ever leaks of financial documents in October 2021, known as the “Pandora Papers”, among public figures linked to offshore assets.
With her mix of Latin and Arabic rhythms and rock influence, three-time Grammy winner Shakira scored major global hits with songs such as “Hips don’t Lie”, “Whenever, Wherever” and “Waka Waka”, the official song of the 2010 World Cup.
