(Barcelona) Spanish prosecutors have accused pop star Shakira of failing to pay 6.7 million euros (C$9.6 million) in taxes on her 2018 income, authorities said Tuesday, as part of latest Spanish tax allegations against Colombian singer.
Shakira allegedly used an offshore company established in a tax haven to avoid paying tax, Barcelona prosecutors said in a statement.
She was informed of the charges in Miami, where she lives, according to the statement.
Shakira is already scheduled to go on trial in Barcelona on November 20 in a separate case that depends on where she lived between 2012 and 2014. In that case, prosecutors allege she failed to pay $14.5 million euros (20.8 million CAN) in taxes.
Barcelona prosecutors claimed the Grammy award winner spent more than half of 2012-2014 in Spain and therefore should have paid taxes in the country, even though her official residence was in the Bahamas.
Spanish tax authorities opened the latest proceedings against Shakira last July. After reviewing evidence collected over the past two months, prosecutors decided to file charges. No trial date has been set.
The public relations company that previously handled Shakira’s affairs, Llorente y Cuenca, has no comment at this time.
Last July, she affirmed that the artist had “always acted in accordance with the law and on the advice of his financial advisors”.
Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, has been linked to Spain since she started dating now-retired footballer Gerard Pique. The couple, who have two children, lived together in Barcelona until last year when they ended their 11-year relationship.
Over the past decade, Spanish tax authorities have cracked down on soccer stars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for failing to pay their taxes in full. These players were convicted of tax evasion, but avoided prison thanks to a provision that allows a judge to waive sentences of less than two years for first offenders, i.e. those who committed a first offense.
