Singer Shakira faces trial in Spain over serious tax fraud allegations
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Barcelona: Colombian singer Shakira faces trial in Spain beginning Monday over the charges of tax fraud in the country.
Spanish prosecutors are seeking over eight years of jail term for the singer accusing her of defrauding the country of 14.5 million euros ($15.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014, news agency AFP reported.
The 46-year-old Grammy-winning singer however denied charges claiming that she moved to the country full time only in 2015.
Shakira emerged on the international scene with her raging hits including ‘Hips Don't Lie’, ‘Whenever, Wherever’ and further corroborated her stardom with the 2010 World Cup song ‘Waka Waka’.
The case against her pivots on the question of how much time the singer spent in the country between 2012 and 2014.
Spanish authorities say Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll should have paid taxes as she spent more than half of that period in Spain.
Prosecutors claim that the singer moved to the country following her relationship with former Barcelona star Gerard Pique became public, AFP reported.
However the singer allegedly maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.
The prosecution accuses Shakira of using a ‘set of companies’ based in Tax havens in order for the ‘intention of not paying’ tax in Spain.
They seek eight years and two month of jail term for her alongside slapping her with a fine of 24 million euros.
Shakira's lawyers argue she earned most of her money from international tours leading a ‘nomadic life’ and moved to Spain prior to her second son’s birth in January 2015.
The singer told Elle magazine in 2022 she owed nothing to Spain as she had paid everything they claimed she was owing, before the lawsuit came.
After splitting from Pique in June 2022, Shakira moved to Miami with her two sons, Milan and Sasha.
Taking stand in the opening trial, Shakira may request permission from the court to avoid attendance in the remaining hearings.
