Bisola David
A Colombian pop sensation, Shakira, is once more in trouble with the Spanish government after being accused of committing new instances of tax fraud.
The Times reported that the Spanish government has accused the celebrity actress of financial malfeasance twice, stating that in 2018 she robbed the government of a sizable sum of €6.7 million ($7.1 million, £5.8 million).
The central issue concerns Shakira’s purported refusal to disclose sizeable sums, including advance payments for her El Dorado World Tour and many other financial transactions.
The second investigation into these claims was started in July 2023, but the information has only recently come to light.
The new accusations are related to Shakira’s residency status in Barcelona in 2018, when she shared a home with football player Gerard Pique.
Authorities in Spain claim that during this time she was required to report and pay taxes on all of her income earned abroad.
Instead, they assert that she used businesses based in low-tax, politically opaque locations to launder her funds.
Shakira is preparing for a protracted legal struggle because she will be tried in Barcelona in November on a total of six different tax crime allegations.
She has maintained her innocence throughout this ordeal, emphasising her trust in the facts in favour of her case and her conviction that justice will ultimately be served in her favour, as she said in an interview with the Spanish edition of Elle magazine in September.
She refuted these accusations by claiming that, if true, her official abode was in the Bahamas, exempting her from paying Spanish taxes.
The pop star’s solicitors have defended her innocence by pointing out that she cooperated with authorities and followed the tax firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ recommendations.
Prosecutors are moving on with the trial since Shakira declined to accept a plea bargain. They are asking for a significant eight-year and two-month prison sentence as well as a substantial fine of about $25 million.
Shakira, since her marriage to former soccer star Gerard Piqué, with whom she has two children, has been intimately identified with Spain. However, the couple called it quits on their 11-year union in 2022.
The first tax-related hearing is scheduled on November 20, and if Shakira is found guilty, she might be sentenced to prison. However, Spanish law has a provision that exempts first-time tax evaders from prison if their term is shorter than two years.
Shakira, a native of Barranquilla, Colombia, has the title of all-time top-selling artist in that country.
Through several alliances, including agreements with companies like Fisher Price, Proctor & Gamble’s 3D White, Activia yoghurt, and Brazilian shoe brand Ipanema, her wealth has significantly increased.
She also participated as a judge on the well-known NBC program “The Voice.”
