The Colombian superstar is accused of failing to pay taxes in Spain between 2012 and 2014, according to reports.
According to a document from the prosecutor’s office, a Spanish prosecutor is seeking an eight-year prison term for the Colombian superstar Shakira in a €14.5 million tax fraud case.
The prosecutor’s office made a settlement offer to the singer, who has sold more than 80 million records worldwide with singles like Hips Don’t Lie. The musician rejected the deal earlier this week.
Shakira has been accused of tax evasion between 2012 and 2014, a period during which she claims she was not a resident of Spain at the time of the alleged violations.
According to a prosecutor’s paperwork obtained by Reuters, Shakira lived in Spain between 2012 and 2014 and purchased a home in Barcelona in May 2012 for her and her girlfriend, as well as their kid, who was born there the following year. If proven guilty, she faces an eight-year sentence in prison and a fine of more than €23 million. A trial date has not yet been determined.
After being asked about Shakira’s declaration that she was “totally certain of her innocence” and that she considered this lawsuit a violation of her civil liberties, Shakira’s attorneys linked back to that statement.
The last settlement offer’s terms remain secret.
According to the Spanish tax authority, the 45-year-old singer owes €17.2 million in back taxes, but the singer says she has paid all of it and has no outstanding debt.
It has been a month since Shakira and her husband, the FC Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué, announced their separation. As of 2011, Shakira was 45 years old and Piqué was 35. They are married with two sons.