Colombian superstar Shakira on Monday reached a last-minute deal with prosecutors in Spain to settle her tax evasion case in the country, thereby avoiding a trial that was about to take place.
The deal means Shakira, 46, will pay a $7.6 million fine and receive a three-year suspended sentence over allegations that she failed to pay about $15.8 million in income taxes. The singer had previously denied six counts of tax fraud and vowed to contest the charges.
Prosecutors claim Shakira failed to pay sufficient income tax between 2012 and 2014. In an indictment in July, they said she had used a “corporate framework” to hide her income and assets in those years, during which authorities say she spent more than half of each year in Spain. Prosecutors said they would seek an eight-year prison sentence as well as a fine of about $26 million.
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Shakira denied the allegations and had also rejected a separate proposed deal in July 2022 to end the case. But on Monday, the singer said in a statement that she now had decided to agree to a deal out of consideration for her two children.
“I have made the decision to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight,” she said. “I need to move past the stress and emotional toll of the last several years and focus on the things I love, my kids and all the opportunities to come in my career.”
“Throughout my career, I have always strived to do what’s right and set a positive example for others,” she added. “Unfortunately, and despite these efforts, tax authorities in Spain pursued a case against me as they have against many professional athletes and other high-profile individuals, draining those people’s energy, time, and tranquility for years at a time.”
Anyone who spends more than six months of the year in Spain is considered a resident for tax purposes. Prosecutors claimed Shakira bought a house in Barcelona in 2012 that she used as a family home with her partner at the time, Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué.
Her lawyers argued that until 2014, the majority of her earnings came from international tours and that she spent long periods of time outside Spanish territory. She declared Spain as her place of residence for tax reasons in 2015.
Shakira and Piqué announced their breakup after 11 years together in June 2022. Piqué had earlier been fined in a separate 2019 case for tax fraud between 2008 and 2010.
