• Famous Shakira criticizes "the methods of the Treasury" that "persecutes her for years in which she was barely in Spain"

The last public commitment that Shakira has in Barcelona will be one of the most difficult of her personal and professional life. Although he no longer resides in the city for a few weeks, he must return at the end of the year to sit in the dock. The Court of Barcelona has set for November 20 the start of the trial against her for four crimes against the Public Treasury. allegedly committed by not submitting the settlement of Personal Income Tax and Wealth Tax for 2012, 2013 and 2014. It was just at the beginning of her relationship with the then Barça player Gerard Piqué and a decade later the couple is no longer together, Shakira went to Miami and Piqué is retired from professional football to devote himself to his business, such as the King League. The trial can be seen as the closing of a stage, the last link of the Colombian singer with her life in Barcelona.

According to this media, the trial in the Court of Barcelona will begin on November 20, although the trial will last 12 more days on days not in a row. This is stated in the summons issued by the court that sets a calendar, after having consulted all the parties, with sessions on November 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30 and as well as on December 4, 5, 11, 12, 13 and 14. The dates could vary depending on whether some witnesses are waived or if an agreement is finally reached, a scenario that is not foreseen at the moment, according to the accusations.

In recent weeks the court, the Prosecutor's Office, the State Attorney and the singer's lawyers have been looking for free dates to carry out this trial that will be much longer than usual due to the number of witnesses and experts proposed by each party. Specifically, the Prosecutor's Office requests the statement of thirty, Shakira's defense about 60 while the State Attorney proposes 130 witnesses and experts. The court urged the parties to reduce the number so as not to repeat themselves in the trial sessions.

Among some of these witnesses are producers, singers and managers who would explain that the artist worked outside Spain when she began her relationship with Gerard Piqué as well as people who treated her at that time during her stays in Barcelona. The presence of the former Barça player is not requested. What is clear is that Shakira must sit on the bench for the high penalties that are requested and that is why she has sought a space within her busy schedule.

The court also recalled that some witnesses will testify by videoconference as they reside abroad. Therefore, so many days of sessions have been organized since many of the witnesses are considered "essential" by the parties and others are expert reports on economic issues related to the crime of fraud to the Treasury and the residence of the singer during those years in which she began her romance with Piqué.

Shakira will be on the bench

In the meeting of all parties to set a schedule, Shakira's defense did not put any inconvenience for her to go in front of the court, ruling out the possibility of being questioned by videoconference. Nor was it requested that the singer only attend the day she had to testify and the rest follow the sessions by videoconference. However, the president of Section 6 of the Audiencia de Barcelona, José Manuel del Amo, opened the possibility that she only attends her interrogation and the rest of the trial is dispensed from attending.

It is a case similar to that of the player Neymar prosecuted a few months ago by the same court and who was only the first sessions of the process. The same judge authorized that the trial not continue in the dock, like his parents, when very technical issues about the crime of corruption in business were debated between the parties. Neymar was acquitted by this court. At the moment, Shakira's lawyers have not made any decision and could raise her dispensation at the beginning of the sessions once she declares.

Nor is it ruled out that the artist is present in all the sessions taking into account her desire to prove her innocence in this procedure since she considers that she is the victim of a "media campaign" to dirty her image by the Treasury. Specifically, in her defense, the singer reproaches the Tax Agency for its action with "collection eagerness" and with the "unacceptable purpose" of "instrumentalizing" Shakira with "exemplary purposes for the rest of Spanish taxpayers".

Therefore, he regretted the "unusual actions" of the Treasury in its investigation with "measures that violate the right to privacy, such as requirements to medical centers to obtain confidential information such as appointments and analytical results" in order to demonstrate that between 2012 and 2014 the artist resided in Spain more than 183 days a year and, therefore, She was obliged to pay taxes in this country. From Shakira's environment it is specified that she is very "indignant" by what she considers a "mistreatment" by the Tax Agency when she has always been aware of her taxes and has always paid the requested amounts. Therefore, the artist does not rule out being present at all the sessions of the trial to make her innocence clear.

High prison sentence

Specifically, the Prosecutor's Office asks for 8 years in prison for Shakira and almost 24 million euros fine for Shakira for allegedly defrauding 14.5 million euros to the Treasury between 2012 and 2014. Specifically, it considers that the Colombian singer allegedly did not present the settlement of the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) and Wealth Tax (IP) corresponding to three fiscal years. In this way it caused an economic loss to the Treasury of 12.3 million for the IRPF and 2.19 million for the wealth tax to the Agència Tributària de Catalunya.

The Public Ministry maintains that the singer had to pay taxes in Spanish territory since she resided in the country more than the minimum six months established by the legislation although the artist assured that this was not the case, since she paid taxes on the income of her professional activity in the Bahamas, where she had her official residence. Hacienda tracked social networks, bills or use of credit cards of the singer to show that she spent more than half a year in Spain because of her relationship with Piqué. The Court of Instruction 2 of Esplugues, which investigated the complaint of the Prosecutor's Office, concluded that in May 2012 Shakira bought a house and began to make works, rented a recording studio for a year and monitored her pregnancy in a clinic in Barcelona.

Therefore, the accusations consider that Shakira evaded the payment of taxes to the Treasury by pretending that she did not reside in this country and hiding her income through a corporate network based in tax havens, such as the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Malta, Panama and Luxembourg with which she channeled the benefits of her professional activity. This is how they accuse her of devising a "plan" to avoid paying neither personal income tax nor wealth tax to the Tax Agency by hiding her income in these companies in tax havens.

The trial to be held at the end of the year in the Court of Barcelona must demonstrate if these crimes were committed or if Shakira suffered "a total abuse" of her rights by the Treasury and the Prosecutor's Office since she considers that she always demonstrated "an impeccable conduct, as a person and taxpayer and a full willingness to solve any difference from the first moment". The next opportunity he has to do so will be by sitting in the dock in court.

  • Shakira Mebarak
  • Personal Income Tax
  • Tax Agency
  • Barcelona
  • Ministry of Defence
  • Neymar
  • Gerard Piqué
  • Bahamas
  • Justice

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