Spanish court orders Pop Star Shakira to face trial for Tax Fraud

"I was on a world tour while Gerard and I began dating. I was unable to be considered a resident because I had to spent more than 240 days outside of Spain " she added. 

Digital Desk: According to court records released on Tuesday, a Spanish court has ordered Colombian music icon, Shakira, to go on trial in a tax fraud case at a later date.

After she rejected a plea agreement over the allegations of tax evasion, prosecutors in Barcelona declared in July that they would pursue a prison sentence of more than eight years and a fine of around 24 million euros ($24 million) against the singer.

They assert that the "Hips Don't Lie" singer, 45, defrauded the Spanish tax authority of $14.7 million ($14.5 million) in relation to revenue received between 2012 and 2014.

Shakira, according to the prosecution, relocated to Spain in 2011 after her relationship with FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique became well-known, yet she continued to file her taxes in the Bahamas until 2015.

The two kids' parents separated in June, according to their announcement.

According to a court decision made public on Tuesday, a Barcelona court ordered the singer to stand trial for six tax offences on September 19.

Shakira expressed her confidence that she had behaved appropriately and owed nothing to the Spanish tax authority in an interview that appeared in Elle magazine last week.

These allegations are untrue, she declared.

"I was on a world tour while Gerard and I began dating. I was unable to be considered a resident because I had to spent more than 240 days outside of Spain " she added. 

"When the Spanish tax officials learned I was dating a Spanish citizen, they began to drool. It is obvious that they intended to pursue the money no matter what."

According to Shakira's attorneys, she moved to Spain permanently only in 2015 and has paid all of her taxes. She said that up until 2014, the majority of her income came from international tours.

According to the singer, she has paid 17.2 million euros in taxes to the Spanish government and has no outstanding arrears.

She claims Spanish prosecutors are attempting to collect money she received from her appearance on "The Voice" and her international tour. When she claims she was not yet a resident of Spain, she was a judge on the show in the United States.

In May, a Barcelona judge denied the singer's request to have the accusations dropped.

The "Pandora Papers," one of the biggest financial document breaches ever, which included public people connected to offshore assets, included Shakira in its list of names in October 2021.

Shakira, a three-time Grammy winner, achieved enormous global success with songs like "Hips don't Lie," "Whenever, Wherever," and "Waka Waka," the official World Cup song, by fusing Latin and Arabic rhythms with rock influences.