A Barcelona judge has ordered a trial in the criminal case against global pop sensation Shakira, who will face six criminal tax counts for allegedly dodging €14.5 million in income and wealth taxes.
Spanish prosecutors have alleged that the Colombian singer spent enough time in the country to qualify as a Spanish resident from 2012-2014 but that she claimed to be resident in the Bahamas during that time. They said they will seek an eight-year prison sentence in the case.
Judge Ana Duro Palencia of an Esplugues de Llobregat investigative court ordered the trial in a September 19 document released September 27. The court order does not specify a trial date.
Shakira, whose surname is Mebarak, was indicted for tax fraud in 2018 but has steadfastly maintained her innocence. A person who spends more than 183 days in Spain over the course of a calendar year generally qualifies as a resident there for tax purposes, but Shakira has denied being in the country for that long during the years in dispute and said she has proof of her whereabouts.
“I was busy fulfilling my professional commitments around the world,” she told Elle magazine in a September 21 interview, adding that she was advised by PwC and is confident about her tax position. Spanish authorities have “resorted to a salacious press campaign . . . in order to coerce settlement agreements,” she said, asserting that “it is well known that the Spanish tax authorities do this often,” not only to celebrities but also to regular taxpayers.
The likelihood of a trial in the case increased after Shakira rejected a plea deal in late July. The proposal from Spanish prosecutors would have required her to plead guilty but would have capped her prison sentence at two years, according to Spanish newspaper El Pais. At the time, there reportedly was still hope that another deal could be reached without a trial. Prosecutors now are seeking a €23.7 million fine as well as the eight-year prison term.