According to documents obtained by Reuters, a Spanish prosecutor intends to seek a maximum of eight years in prison and a $23 million fine against superstar singer Shakira for tax evasion.
The three-time Grammy Award winner is accused of failing to pay nearly $15 million in taxes between 2012 and 2014. The singer claims she has already paid the Spanish tax office approximately $17.5 million to settle her obligation. Nonetheless, a judge ruled in July of last year that there was enough “evidence of criminality” for the singer, who is the star and EP of NBC’s Dancing With Myself reality competition, to stand trial.
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While Shakira is Columbian, the prosecutor’s office claims she was “ordinarily resident in Spain between 2012 and 2014 and in May 2012 bought a house in Barcelona.” That house, officials claim, was for not only the singer, but also for her husband, FC Barcelona player Gerard Pique, and their son, born in Spain in 2013. Last month, the couple announced their separation.
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According to the superstar’s representatives, she is “fully confident of her innocence” and sees the case as a “violation of her rights,” and she recently rejected a settlement offer from prosecutors.
A trial date has not yet been set.
