A Judge has ruled that Shakira must face trial in Spain over claims the Colombian superstar evaded 14 million Euros in tax.
The Spanish prosecutors are accusing the 44-year-old Colombian singer of six offences, which could result in jail term if she is convicted.
They claim the ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ hitmaker stopped paying taxes in Spain in the years 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Shakira is alleged to have moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with footballer, Gerard Pique was made public. The prosecutors claim she maintained her official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015 when she started paying taxes in Spain.
Shakira has previously insisted she is innocent of tax evasion after she was questioned by a Spanish judge. Shakira noted that during those years she lived in the Bahamas and was not a resident of Spain, but was only visiting the country ‘sporadically’.
She denied allegations of not paying tax when she lived in Spain between 2011 and 2014, during an hour and a half long hearing in Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona.
It is worth mentioning that the case only covers the period from 2012 to 2014, as the time frame to prosecute alleged tax offences in 2011 has expired.
However, the judge has concluded there are ‘sufficient indications’ for Shakira to go to trial for allegedly avoiding the payment of the 14 million Euros.
Well, it is reported that Shakira and the other defendant plan on presenting an appeal to the Barcelona Court against the judgment.
Shakira makes strides amidst prosecution
Meanwhile, Shakira became a trend worldwide when she recently announced a new single ‘Don’t Wait Up’. The Colombian superstar hinted at a forthcoming release by refreshing her social media channels with multi-hued pink branding and sharing a mysterious pre-save link. She later confirmed the single by posting a teaser video, which depicts a heated text conversation.
However, the announcement didn’t come as a complete surprise. Shakira has been working on new music since early 2020 when she reassured fans that she was being productive in quarantine.
“I’ve read your tweets bosses!” the 44-year-old joked in an Instagram post after fans trended #ShakiraReleaseNewMusic. “I’m on it!” While four years have passed since the release of Shakira’s Grammy-winning “El Dorado”, the pop icon has maintained a high profile in the music industry.
It can be recalled that in 2019, Shakira released ‘Shakira In Concert: El Dorado World Tour’, a documentary film that documented a career-threatening vocal cord injury and her triumphant comeback.
That film also shined a light on the superstar’s philanthropic endeavors in the developing world. She doubled down in 2020, urging world leaders to donate supplies and vaccines to those who need them most.
Shakira also found the time to release a handful of stand-alone collaborations last year including the Anuel AA-assisted ‘Me Gusta’ and ‘Girl Like Me’ with the Black-Eyed Peas. The latter was a massive success in Europe. ‘Don’t Wait Up’ is the lead single from Shakira’s untitled 12th studio album.
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