Shakira Reaches Settlement With Prosecutors Over Tax Evasion

Shakira

Shakira has settled out of court with Spanish prosecutors over charges of tax evasion from 2012 to 2014. The Columbian pop star was charged for not paying taxes over $14.4 million. She has also accepted a 50% fine of the total tax amount.

Shakira has also been fined around half a million dollars to avoid three years in prison, the judge declared during the first hearing of the trial. She was charged with tax evasion by Spanish authorities in December 2018. They accused her of failing to pay $14.4 million for the three years. The judge read the deal in a courtroom in the Spanish city of Barcelona on Monday. The trial was to begin on that day. Shakira verbally agreed to the terms laid out by the Spanish court.

Shakira Professed Her Innocence Despite Agreeing To Pay Up

Shakira read a statement saying that the decision reached her was an emotional, sentimental, and personal response and was unrelated to the legal aspect of the case. The singer said that while she was willing to prove her innocence, she was placing the interest of her children and her career over everything. In the statement released by her communication agency in Spain, Shakira said that she had concluded that she was not willing to sacrifice years of her life to win a legal battle.

The singer was in court along with her legal team. She answered in the affirmative to the question posed by the judge if she recognized the facts of the case. She also said she agreed to the monetary terms. Shakira had earlier vowed to fight the case and had said that the accusations against her were false. The prosecution claimed that she had spent over half the period in contention in Spain and was thus liable to pay the taxes. She was facing around 8 years in prison.