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Shakira is facing tax evasion charges in Spain. Photo: Shakira
Shakira is facing tax evasion charges in Spain. Photo: Shakira

Shakira to face trial for tax fraud

Shakira faces a tax offense that is going to trial and could land her in jail.

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Shakira faces a tax offense that is going to trial and could land her in jail.

After three years of investigation, a Barcelona judge has concluded that there is "sufficient evidence" for the Colombian artist to go to trial for having eluded the payment of 14.5 million Euros. Spanish law establishes that whoever spends more than 183 days a year in the country is a tax resident and therefore must pay their taxes as a citizen — something that Shakira did not do from 2011 to 2015.

The Prosecutor's Office accuses her of six tax crimes in Spain, which could end in a jail sentence.

However, the superstar has appealed the judge's decision to take her to trial to delay the state's jail request. Her defense insists that there is no evidence that Shakira spent more than 183 days in Spain between 2012 and 2014 since during that time the artist lived in the Bahamas.

Shakira defines herself in those years as a "nomad without roots." However, Spanish inspectors did not find a single proof that Shakira resided in the Bahamas durig those years. There is nothing more than a residence certificate, which is the one that exempts you from paying taxes on the archipelago.

Investigators tracked Shakira's daily life in Barcelona alongside Barça footballer Gerard Piqué. They concluded that the artist's trips abroad were "sporadic" and due to professional reasons — not because she lived outside of Spain.

The specific inspector leading the investigation also found Shakira had private French and Zumba classes in Barcelona, ​​visited her hairdresser twice a week in the city and made recurring purchases at a Spanish department store. In addition, she even got to know the pseudonyms she used to go to the clinic where she gave birth to her two children.

The data shows that Shakira moved to Barcelona in 2011 after starting her relationship with Piqué. She first rented a house to swimmer David Meca, then moved with Piqué to the center of the city and finally, they bought a house on the outskirts of the Catalan capital. But it is not only her finances that give her away: her fan clubs post photos of the places she passes through on social media, a perfect trail for inspectors.

In the 21st century, it is almost impossible to hide from the authorities.

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