Shakira to stand trial for alleged tax fraud in Spanish court

Colombian singer Shakira has been ordered by a Spanish court to stand trial over alleged tax fraud of €14.5 million on income. Back in July, prosecutors said they'd seek a prison sentence of over eight years, and a fine of nearly €24 million.

Shakira is confident she has done nothing wrong, and does not owe the Spanish tax office anything. Prosecutors claim that Shakira lived in Spain from 2011 to 2015 while she was dating FC Barcelona player Gerard Pique, but maintained tax residency in the Bahamas.

"The accusations are false. While Gerard and I were dating, I was on a world tour. I spent more than 240 days outside of Spain, so there was no way I qualified as a resident," she said. "The Spanish tax authorities saw that I was dating a Spanish citizen and started to salivate. It's clear they wanted to go after that money no matter what."

She argues that the Spanish prosecutors are trying to grab money she earned while she was not a resident of Spain, such as her international tour and her participation on The Voice.

The case against Shakira was exposed back in 2021, in one of the largest financial document leaks known as the 'Pandora Papers'.

A trial date has yet to be set.