Shakira Faces Second Tax Investigation in Spain for Alleged Income Fraud
20.07.2023 - 18:13
/ usmagazine.com
Shakira’s legal troubles are far from over as she faces a second tax fraud case in Spain.
A new investigation into the singer’s finances is set to be launched, a Spanish court announced on Thursday, July 20, according to Reuters. The outlet reported that the probe will look into alleged income and wealth tax fraud in 2018.
Shakira, 46, is already set to stand trial in November for a separate tax fraud case over the allegation that she failed to pay $13.9 million in taxes on income earned between 2012 and 2014. Prosecutors in Spain first pursued legal action against the entertainer in 2018, claiming that Shakira had resided in the Catalonia region from 2012 to 2014 and therefore owed taxes to Spain, despite her official residence at the time being listed in the Bahamas.
Shakira has repeatedly denied the allegations. “I didn’t spend 183 days per year [in Spain] at that time at all,” she told Elle in September 2022. “I was busy fulfilling my professional commitments around the world. Second, I’ve paid everything they claimed I owed, even before they filed a lawsuit. So, as of today, I owe zero to them.”
The “Hips Don’t Lie” musician added: “It is well known that the Spanish tax authorities do this often, not only with celebrities like me, it also happens unjustly to the regular taxpayer. It’s just their style.”
If the Grammy winner is found guilty, she could face serious consequences. In July 2022, Spanish prosecutors announced that they are seeking an eight-year prison term as well as a 23 million euro fine.
Shakira has lived in Spain off and on for years. In 2012, she purchased a home in Barcelona with then-boyfriend Gerard Piqué. The duo — who share sons Milan, 10, and Sasha, 8 — split in June 2022 after 12 years together amid