Authorities in Spain announced Tuesday that music star Shakira is being investigated for allegedly evading taxes of 6.7 million euros ($7.1 million) in 2018.
Prosecutors in Barcelona have released a statement claiming that Shakira attempted to avoid paying taxes by setting up a corporation in a tax haven. The statement claims that she has been informed of the charges in her hometown of Miami.
Shakira will stand trial on November 20 in Barcelona for a different matter involving her residency in 2012–2014. She owes the government 14.5 million euros ($15.4 million), but prosecutors say she evaded paying it.
Barcelona prosecutors contend that the Grammy winner should have paid Spanish taxes because she spent more than half of the years in question in Spain, even if her legal residence was in the Bahamas.
Shakira was the subject of a July probe by Spanish tax authorities. After examining the evidence collected over the past two months, prosecutors have decided to press charges. There was no scheduled court date.
Llorente y Cuenca, the PR firm previously managing Shakira’s business, has remained silent.
In July of last year, it was reported that the artist had always followed the law and listened to the recommendations of her accountants.
Since dating former soccer player Gerard Pique, Shakira, whose name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, has become closely identified with Spain. After 11 years of marriage and two children, the couple moved together in Barcelona before breaking up last year.
In the past decade, soccer superstars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been targeted by harsh measures from the Spanish tax authorities for failing to pay their entire tax requirements. The footballers were found guilty of tax evasion, but they avoided jail time thanks to a law that permits judges to reduce the sentences of first-time offenders by up to two years.
