It has been reported that a Spanish court is set to launch a new investigation into the Columbian singer's finances following a complaint by the Barcelona Economic Crimes Prosecutor.
- Jul 21, 2023
AceShowbiz - Shakira has been slapped with another tax fraud case. It has been reported that a Spanish court announced on Thursday, July 20 that it will launch a new investigation into the singer's finances. The investigation is set to look into alleged income and wealth tax fraud in 2018.
According to the Associated Press, the court, which is in the town of Esplugues de Llobregat near Barcelona, said it had no information on how much money was in question. Spanish media outlet El Pais stated that the investigation was launched as a result of a complaint by the Barcelona Economic Crimes Prosecutor regarding Shakira allegedly defrauding the Tax Agency.
Another local outlet El Periodico, meanwhile, reported that the prosecutor's office has filed a complaint for two alleged tax crimes.
In response to the second tax fraud case, Shakira has released a statement denying the allegations. "As has been stated on numerous occasions, Shakira defends having always acted in compliance with the law and under the guidance of the best tax experts," her public relations stated on Thursday. "The singer's legal team will not make any comments until the notification reaches them through the official and legally established channels."
"As it is publicly known, and as the Spanish Treasury was officially notified, Shakira is now living in Miami, so she must be notified personally at her new address, in strict accordance with the provisions of the Law. Now she is focused on her artistic life in Miami and is calm and confident in a favorable resolution to her tax affairs," the statement continued.
Prior to this, Shakira was accused of failing to pay $14.7 million in taxes when she lived in Spain between 2012 and 2014, a time she claims she did not live in the country. The "Hips Don't Lie" hitmaker claimed that she spent most of her time in her primary residence, in the Bahamas, while prosecutors will aim to prove she spent the majority of the period in Spain.
"I didn't spend 183 days per year [in Spain] at that time at all," she denied the accusations in an interview with 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 Grammy winner 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."
The "Waka Waka" songstress is set to stand trial in the autumn for the first case. She faces a possible eight-year sentence plus a large fine if she is found guilty of not paying taxes from 2012 to 2014.
