Colombian singer Shakira reached a settlement to avoid a trial over charges that she failed to pay 14.5 million euros in Spanish income tax between 2012 and 2014. As per the deal, the trial will not take place and jail time will be replaced with fines, the judge said. The 46-year-old pop icon has a second tax fraud investigation pending with Spanish authorities.
Shakira turned down a deal offered by prosecutors to settle her case in July 2022. The singer had then said that she “believes in her innocence and chooses to leave the issue in the hands of the law.” The details of that deal were not made public then. Shakira was also named in the “Paradise Papers” leaks-detailing the offshore tax arrangements of high-profile individuals including Madonna and U2’s Bono.
What has Shakira has said on the charges?
Shakira said that she paid what the tax office said was owed before it filed a lawsuit while insisting that she was not living in Spain during the period as her work led to a “nomadic life”. Shakira lived with the former Barcelona and Spain footballer Gerard Piqué for 11 years. The couple have two children.
The singer, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, moved to Miami after their separation.
What the prosecutor’s office said?
The prosecutor’s office alleged that Shakira spent more than half of each of the years in question in Spain. This means that she was ordinarily resident in the country and that a Barcelona property she bought in May 2012 served as a family home.
Are other celebrities under the scanner?
Spanish authorities have pursued other major celebrities over tax evasion. These include footballers such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and the Diego Costa. All settled and paid large fines, as per reports. Last month, Spain’s supreme court also upheld the acquittal of the Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso in another tax case. He had refused to settle and eventually won at trial.
