Agencies-Gaza post
Shakira encounters +8 years in jail in Spain for this reason
Spanish prosecutors called for over eight years in jail and a fine of about $24 million for Shakira over alleged tax fraud, as the authorities push forward with their years-long case against the Colombian pop star.
Shakira’s legal sorrow started in 2018 when Spanish authorities charged her with evading taxes amounting to 14.5 million euros, or nearly $15 million, between 2012 and 2014 — a three-year period during which she claimed she had not yet officially moved to Spain. A judge ended last year that prosecutors had assembled sufficient proof to seek tax fraud charges in court.
On Friday, prosecutors revealed six charges against Shakira, 45, after she rejected a settlement deal earlier this week, El País said. According to the Spanish newspaper, authorities highlighted the substantial amount of taxes she allegedly owed, as well as her history of using offshore tax sanctuaries, as aggravating factors in the issue.
The Grammy-winning performer, famous for hit songs such as “Hips Don’t Lie” and “Waka Waka,” has denied wrongdoing in multiple events, including during her court testimony in 2019.
Shakira’s publicists in London stated the singer “has always cooperated and abided by the law, demonstrating impeccable conduct as a person and a taxpayer,” the Associated Press reported.
Her public concerns team in Spain said she immediately repaid the amount she owed to the country’s tax agency once she was announced.
She also deposited an additional 3 million euros in interest. These payments, El País said, may be regarded as a mitigating circumstance by prosecutors when it reaches the length of a potential jail sentence.
The tax fraud charges hinge on where Shakira lived from 2012 to 2014. She claims that her tax living was in the Bahamas until 2015 when she relocated to Barcelona with her partner, FC Barcelona soccer player Gerard Piqué. (The couple, who have two kids together, last month announced the end of their 11-year relationship.)
But according to Spanish investigators, Shakira allegedly spent over 200 days in the country in each of those three years. The Spanish government stipulates that an individual who remains in the country for 184 days or more is considered a resident for tax purposes. These findings, first published by El País in 2020, were based on a reconstruction of Shakira’s schedule, such as public sightings by fans and photographers.
Prosecutors also allege that Shakira bought the property in Barcelona in 2012, which later became the family house she shared with Piqué, Reuters reported.
Shakira was among the celebs whose names appeared in two significant troves of leaked financial documents, the Paradise Papers in 2017 and the Pandora Papers in 2021. The investigations linked her to offshore companies in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands and Malta.
Her public concerns team in Spain and the prosecutor’s office in Barcelona did not immediately respond to demands for comment.
