PH
Shakira resolved her tax evasion case with Spanish authorities on Monday, November 20, averting a long trial that might have resulted in a three-year prison sentence.
The judge revealed a last-minute deal submitted by the government and Shakira’s legal counsel to avoid trial at the start of court proceedings. The court questioned Shakira if she was aware of the agreement and the most recent penalty, to which the artist replied yes.
Soon after, the singer’s management revealed that her lawyers had reached an agreement to settle a tax issue spanning the years 2012 to 2014.
Prosecutors accused the singer of stealing 14.5 million euros ($15.7 million) from the Spanish government between 2012 and 2014.
According to Spanish authorities, Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll spent more than half of her time in Spain and thus should have paid taxes in the nation.
According to reports, she relocated to Spain when her connection with former FC Barcelona star defender Gerard Pique became public in 2011. However, she kept her official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.
Shakira’s lawyers contended that she lived a “nomadic life” and earned the majority of her money from overseas tours until 2014. And that she relocated to Barcelona permanently right before the birth of her second son in January 2015.
Shakira said in a statement that she “was ready to face trial and defend my innocence,” but came “to the conclusion that it is not a triumph to win if the price is that (they) steal so many years of life.”
She said she had agreed to settle for the sake of her two sons, Milan and Sasha.
“I need to move past the stress and emotional toll of the last several years and focus on the things I love. They are my kids and all the opportunities to come in my career. There is also my upcoming world tour and my new album,” she said in the statement issued by her lawyers.
“I admire tremendously those who have fought these injustices to the end. But for me, today, winning is getting my time back for my kids and my career.”
