A judge has ruled that Shakira will have to stand trial in her tax fraud case. As previously reported, the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer has been accused of failing to pay her taxes in Spain between 2012 and 2014, though Shakira contended that she did not live in the country and was actually based in the Bahamas at the time.
According to the AFP, however, a Spanish court ruled on Tuesday that the 45-year-old will, in fact, have to face trial, which comes just two months after prosecutors called for an eight-year prison sentence and a multi-million euro fine for her alleged wrongdoings. A rep for the Colombian hitmaker had previously denied Shakira being involved in any illegal activities, stressing that they will prove her innocence if the matter was to go to trial.
So this happened. I spoke exclusively to @shakira for @ELLEmagazine. It’s her first interview since her separation from her partner Gerard Pique and the first time she’s answered questions about her pending trial over Spanish taxes. She talked about ALL of it. Read below👇🏽 https://t.co/cFvx0NXsyC
— Lulu (@lourdesgnavarro) September 21, 2022
“Shakira has always cooperated and abided by the law, demonstrating impeccable conduct as an individual and a taxpayer, and faithfully following the counsel of PriceWaterhouse Coopers, a prestigious and globally recognized tax firm,” a rep said over the summer. “Shakira is confident that her innocence will be proven by the end of the judicial process.”
In her recent interview with Elle magazine, the mother of two had broken her silence about the ongoing legal drama, insisting that she was too occupied working on the road that her schedule wouldn’t have even allowed her to be based in one country for a long period of time.
Prosecutors argued that because Shakira was allegedly in Spain for more than six months, she should pay the taxes she owes the country, to which she says she was actually based in the Bahamas and was traveling constantly for work.
“Second, I’ve paid everything they claimed I owed, even before they filed a lawsuit,” she told Elle. “So as of today, I owe zero to them. And finally, I was advised by one of the four biggest tax specialist firms in the world, PricewaterhouseCoopers, so I was confident that I was doing things correctly and transparently from day one.”
The way Shakira dragged Spanish Tax system in her latest @ELLEmagazine interview. Best thing in 2022 so far. pic.twitter.com/e7DjWzDDgM
— Ana🌻 (@blaugr__ana) September 21, 2022
It’s been a rough year for Shakira, who is also dealing with the split from her ex Gerard Piqué over the summer — the pair share two children together but decided to call it quits after 11 years together.
While neither of them commented on what had caused the relationship to fall apart, it’s been reported that the soccer player allegedly stepped out on his former flame and has since settled down with a new woman named Clara Chia, who reportedly works at this company in the PR department.