Pop icon: Shakira admits tax fraud and escapes prison

2023-11-20 18:21:43

Pop icon Shakira admits tax fraud and escapes prison

The singer Shakira (M) arrives at the court in Barcelona. The 46-year-old received a three-year prison sentence, which she does not have to serve as she does not have a criminal record. photo

© Emilio Morenatti/AP

Shakira had accused the Spanish tax authorities of “blackmail” and announced a fight for her innocence. But in the end, the pop singer gave in shortly before the criminal tax trial began.

You’ve probably never seen Shakira like this before. The The pop icon and hip-swaying queen, who always belts out her songs confidently, sexy and with a powerful voice, suddenly became very meek in front of the district court in Barcelona. Humbly and quietly, the Colombian (“Waka Waka”, “Hips Don’t Lie”), in response to questions from the judge, admitted to a multi-million dollar tax fraud against the Spanish tax authorities, which she had previously denied with the same energy with which she did in videos and on appears on stage.

It’s about 14.5 million euros

Contrary to her previous stance, Shakira has now admitted tax evasion totaling 14.5 million euros between 2012 and 2014. In doing so, she escaped the prison sentence of eight years and two months demanded by the public prosecutor.

In addition, Shakira is preventing an embarrassing show trial in which 117 witnesses were to be questioned by mid-December – including former neighbors, employees, hairdressers and drivers, colleagues and entrepreneurs in the music industry and also her former partner Antonio de la Rúa. The newspaper “El Mundo” was not the only one to speculate that a lot of dirty laundry would have been washed in public.

Shakira had previously protested her innocence and even accused the tax authorities of “blackmail”. She had always maintained that during the years in question she was not living in Spain but in the Bahamas. She only repeatedly visited her then partner and soccer star Gerard Piqué, with whom she has two children and from whom she is now separated, in Barcelona. It wasn’t until 2015 that she lived permanently in Barcelona. She also paid all taxes plus interest amounting to 17.2 million euros.

Shakira doesn’t have to go to prison despite her prison sentence

As part of the agreement, Shakira must pay a fine of 7.3 million euros. The public prosecutor’s office had originally demanded 23.8 million. She also received a three-year prison sentence, which she does not have to serve as she does not have a criminal record. This will be converted into a fine of a further 432,000 euros.

The woman from the Caribbean city of Barranquilla will be able to get over that. Especially since she continues to be very successful professionally despite the many personal setbacks of the past few years. Her career has spanned around three decades. She was already known throughout Latin America as a young teenager before conquering the world with the hit “Whenever, Wherever”. Just last week she was honored with three Latin Grammy Awards in Seville.

On Monday, Shakira said in a statement from her lawyers that she was initially “determined” to defend her innocence. “I greatly admire those who fought these injustices to the end.” But in the end she changed her mind. “I now need to put the stress and emotional burden of the past few years behind me and focus on the things I love – my children and all the opportunities that exist in my career, including my upcoming world tour and my new album “I’m really looking forward to both of them.”

At the awards ceremony in Seville last week, Shakira moved an audience of millions on TV and proudly mentioned her two sons Milan (10) and Sasha (8), with whom she has been with since separating from Piqué last year in Miami, US state Florida is alive. “I promised them that I would be happy.”

But the tax authorities and the judiciary in Spain could soon thwart the world-famous mother’s happiness again. It was only in September that the public prosecutor filed another criminal complaint against Shakira for the alleged evasion of almost 6.7 million euros in 2018. A decision by the investigating judge is still pending.

dpa