On Tuesday, court documents revealed that a Spanish court has scheduled Colombian music icon Shakira for trial in a tax fraud case.
Barcelona prosecutors said in July that they would seek a prison sentence of almost eight years and a fine of over 24 million euros ($24 million) against the singer for tax cheating after she rejected a plea offer.
The 45-year-old “Hips Don’t Lie” singer is accused of cheating the Spanish government out of $14.7 million ($14.5 million) in taxes on earnings from 2012 to 2014.
The prosecution claims that Shakira moved to Spain in 2011 after news of her romance with FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique broke, although she remained a tax resident of the Bahamas until 2015.
In June, the parents announced that they were divorcing their two children.
A court ruling from Barcelona was made public on Tuesday, stating that the singer would be tried on September 19 for six tax offences.
In an interview published by Elle magazine last week, Shakira expressed confidence that she had acted legally and owed nothing to the Spanish tax department.
She flatly denied the claims being made against her.
“We started dating while I was halfway around the world on a tour of the world with Gerard. Since I had spent over 240 days outside of Spain, I did not qualify as a resident “And she said.
“The Spanish tax authorities were drooling when they found out I was seeing a Spaniard. They obviously planned to go after the money no matter what happened.”
The singer has always paid her fair share of taxes, and she only made the transfer to Spain permanently in 2015, according say her lawyers. She claimed that before to 2014, her worldwide tours were the primary source of revenue for her career.
The singer claims that she has settled all tax obligations to the Spanish government to the tune of 17.2 million euros.
She says Spanish authorities are after the money she made from “The Voice” and her tour across the world. She was a judge on the show in the United States during the time she says she was not yet a resident of Spain.
In May, the singer’s attempt to get the charges withdrawn was shot down by a judge in Barcelona.
In October of 2021, Shakira’s name was featured on a list of people with links to offshore accounts that was leaked as part of the “Pandora Papers,” one of the largest financial document leaks in history.
Three-time Grammy winner Shakira fused Latin and Arabic rhythms with rock elements to create hits like “Hips don’t Lie,” “Whenever, Wherever,” and “Waka Waka,” the official World Cup song.
