Shakira denies £13m million tax fraud allegations
Shakira has responded to tax fraud allegations made against her by the Spanish government.
The 45-year-old singer says that all the allegations made against her are “false,” and that she has paid everything that she owed to the government.
Last year, a judge ruled that Shakira must face trial in Spain for allegedly evading €14.5m (£13m) in tax.
They concluded that there are “sufficient indications” for the Colombian singer to go to trial, after she was accused of six offences by Spanish prosecutors. She could face jail time if she is found guilty.
Prosecutors claimed that the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer stopped paying taxes in Spain in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and used shell companies to conceal control of assets between 2012 and 2014, with her name only appearing on forms in countries considered tax havens.
However, Shakira claimed that between 2012 and 2014, her fiscal residence was in the Bahamas so she was exempt from having to pay Spanish income tax.
She also claimed she was in Spain “sporadically” during that time, but prosecutors argued that she was actually living in Barcelona for more than six months of the year.
In a new cover story for Elle, Shakira said that “as of now,” she owes “zero” money to the government.
“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,” she said, “It’s just their style. But I’m confident that I have enough proof to support my case and that justice will prevail in my favour.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Shakira also broke her silence on her split from Gerard Pique, whom she dated for over a decade, and revealed that the breakup occurred during the “darkest hour” of her life.
“It’s really upsetting for two kids who are trying to process their parents’ separation. And sometimes I just feel like this is all a bad dream and that I’m going to wake up at some point,” she said.
“But no, it’s real. And what’s also real is the disappointment to see something as sacred and as special as I thought was the relationship I had with my kids’ father and see that turned into something vulgarised and cheapened by the media,” Shakira added.
