Processes
Tax proceedings against Shakira in Spain dropped
The pop icon Shakira is known for her hip swings (archive image). photo
© Amy Harris/Invision/AP/dpa
Shakira can be relieved. The pop icon gets good news from her old adopted home of Barcelona.
The criminal complaint filed by the public prosecutor in September last year concerned an alleged evasion of almost 6.7 million euros in 2018.
The investigation has now been ended at the request of the public prosecutor’s office because it was concluded that there was “insufficient evidence” to suggest that Shakira had “intentions to commit fraud.” The Catalan tax authority must now decide whether a sanction might be appropriate. If no appeal is lodged against the termination of the investigation within a week, it will come into force.
Singer happy with the decision
Shakira was “completely satisfied” with the decision, Europa Press quoted a statement from the lawyers as saying. “Our client is completely satisfied that it is finally recognized that she did not commit criminal fraud,” it said.
In a first case, the Colombian’s lawyers reached an out-of-court settlement in November shortly before the trial began in Spain. Contrary to previous assurances, the pop icon admitted tax evasion totaling 14.5 million euros between 2012 and 2014 as part of the agreement. In doing so, she escaped the eight-year prison sentence demanded by the public prosecutor. The musician accepted a fine of 7.3 million euros. The prosecution had originally demanded 23.8 million.
The singer, who is also known for her hip swings, also received a three-year prison sentence, which she did not have to serve as she had no previous convictions. This was converted into a fine of a further 432,000 euros.
After her separation from former soccer professional Gerard Piqué, with whom she has two sons, the woman from the Colombian Caribbean city of Barranquilla left her long-time adopted home in Barcelona almost two years ago. Since then she has lived in Miami, Florida.