Shakira will face a second court case for possible tax fraud in Spain. Now, before the serious accusations against her, the Colombian singer responded that she always acted “according to the law” and denounced the “media and reputational pressure” she is under; the above, because she found out about her legal situation through the press.
Shakira: Could the Singer Go to Jail for Tax Fraud?
In a statement that was sent to the media, Shakira and her legal team assured that they have not yet received any notification of the new complaint that the Spanish Prosecutor’s Office filed against her for wealth and income tax fraud in 2018. The singer pointed out that she found out through the media, “as has been happening for all these years.”
For the Colombian, this episode is a new example of the “media and reputational pressure to which she is subjected,” and insisted that she has always acted legally and “under the advice of the best tax experts.”
After her separation from former Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué, Shakira currently lives in Miami, so she must be personally served with the lawsuit at her new address. The star said that she is currently “focused on her artistic life in Miami” and is confident in “the favorable resolution of her tax affairs.”
Shakira Is Accused of Tax Fraud Again
A Spanish court opened this second case against Shakira following a complaint from the Prosecutor’s Office, which accuses her of defrauding the Treasury in income tax and wealth taxes for the 2018 tax year. As reported Thursday by the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), the case against the artist, which investigates the investigating court number 2 of Esplugues de Llobregat in Barcelona, is open for two offenses against the Treasury.
Shakira will be tried next November 20 in the Barcelona Court for allegedly defrauding 14.5 million euros between the years 2012 and 2014, in another case that was also initiated by a complaint of the Prosecutor’s Office of Economic Crimes of Barcelona.
In that first open case, the Prosecutor’s Office is asking for eight years and two months in prison, as well as a fine of 23.8 million euros. This is related to six crimes of tax fraud for allegedly evading the payment of taxes to the Spanish Treasury even though, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, she had been residing in Spain since 2012 and was obliged since then to pay taxes in this country.
In 2018, the tax year that motivated the complaint, the Colombian artist had already established her residence in Spain as a result of her relationship with former Barcelona footballer Gerard Piqué, which prompted her to move to live in Miami with her two children in April. The Tax Agency detected other irregularities in her 2018 tax liquidation and referred the case to the Prosecutor’s Office given that the amount it estimates defrauded exceeds the quota of 120,000 euros above which a tax fraud is considered a crime.
The new open case complicates the criminal scenario for the interpreter, who already returned the 14.5 million euros demanded by the Tax Agency plus another three million euros of interest, but rejected the agreement proposed by the Prosecutor’s Office to reduce her sentence in exchange for accepting the facts imputed to her. Although the singer, who has always maintained that she is innocent, decided to take a gamble in the trial, she still has time to reach an agreement with the Treasury and the Catalan Tax Agency. The deadline is until the moment she officially sits in the dock.
For the moment, the Barcelona Court of Appeals has set November 20 as the date for the start of the trial, which will continue for another 11 sessions on November 22, 23, 28, 29, and 30, and December 4, 5, 11, 12, 13 and 14.
This story was written in Spanish by Miguel Fernández in Cultura Colectiva News
