Europe 1 with AFP // photo credit: LOIC VENANCE / AFP 17:16 pm, July 20, 2023

The singer Shakira is once again in the spotlight, after her hard separation with the footballer Gérard Piqué. This time, the 46-year-old Colombian is once again worried by the Spanish justice for tax irregularities. Proceedings have been opened against him for two alleged tax and income tax offences against the Treasury.

The Spanish judiciary began new proceedings for tax irregularities in 2018 against Colombian singer Shakira, who is already due to be tried in the coming months for fraud between 2012 and 2014. "The court of Esplugues de Llobregat has opened proceedings after the complaint filed by the prosecutor's office against the singer Shakira for two alleged offenses against the public treasury concerning income tax and wealth tax in 2018," the superior court of Catalonia said in a statement Thursday. In a statement sent to AFP, the entourage of the artist, who after several years spent in Spain now resides in Miami, insisted on his innocence, ensuring that the singer had not yet been officially informed of this new case.

"Once again, as has been the case for all these years, it is through the media that the singer learned of the launch of this procedure, which highlights the media and reputational pressure to which she is subjected," said its representatives. "Shakira has always acted in accordance with the law and under the advice of the best tax experts," they insisted, adding that the singer "is now focusing on her artistic life in Miami and is serene and confident about the outcome of these tax proceedings." Already accused of having evaded 14.5 million euros from the Spanish tax authorities between 2012 and 2014, the star will be tried for this first part by a court in Barcelona, probably from November.

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Income from his undeclared tours

The prosecutor's office accuses the singer with more than 60 million albums sold of not having declared a large part of her income from her tours abroad during the period 2012-2014 while she lived in Spain more than 183 days a year, the threshold from which it is mandatory to declare her tax residence in the country. According to the prosecution, Shakira had been living in Spain since 2011, when her relationship with FC Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique was made public, but maintained her tax residence in the Bahamas, considered a tax haven, until 2015. The prosecutor's office is demanding more than eight years in prison and a fine of around 24 million euros.

The 46-year-old artist, famous for her international hits such as "Hips don't Lie", "Whenever, Wherever" and "Waka Waka", has always denied these accusations and said she was constantly on the move because of her profession. In an interview with ELLE magazine in September, the singer said she "owes nothing" to the tax authorities and that "these accusations are false". "The tax authorities saw that I was in a relationship with a Spanish citizen and started salivating. It is clear that they wanted this money at all costs," she added. The Colombian's private life came back to the forefront in June 2022 when she separated from former Barça footballer Gerard Pique with whom she had been in a relationship for more than ten years and with whom she had two children.

After reaching an agreement on custody of their children, Shakira moved with them to Miami." I moved to Barcelona to give stability to my children, the same one we are now looking for in another part of the world, close to family, friends and the sea," she wrote in April on Instagram, when announcing her departure from Spain.