Pop star Shakira strikes deal to settle Spain tax fraud case

Colombian superstar Shakira will pay millions of euros in fines as part of a settlement announced Monday with Spanish prosecutors to settle her tax fraud case and avoid trial.

Prosecutors had accused the superstar of defrauding the Spanish state of around 14.5 million euros ($15.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014, charges Shakira had denied, saying she only moved to Spain full time in 2015.

Under the deal, announced at the start of what would have been the trial of the 46-year-old singer, Shakira agreed to receive a three-year suspended sentence and to pay a fine of 7.33 million euros ($7.98 million) amounting to 50 percent of the amount of unpaid tax.

The "Hips Don't Lie" singer will also pay a separate fine of 432,000 euros to have her jail sentence suspended, bringing the total amount she will have to pay to around 7.8 million euros.

Wearing a pink suit and sunglasses, Shakira waved and blew a kiss to a small crowd of bystanders before entering the Barcelona courthouse.

The singer, who had previously rejected a deal offered by prosecutors, said in a statement she had settled "with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight."

"I need to move past the stress and emotional toll of the last several years and focus on the things I love - my kids and all the opportunities to come in my career, including my upcoming world tour and my new album," she said.

"I admire tremendously those who have fought these injustices to the end, but for me, today, winning is getting my time back for my kids and my career."

The case centred on how much time the singer, whose hit singles include "Whenever, Wherever" and the 2010 World Cup song "Waka Waka", spent in Spain between 2012 and 2014.

Spanish authorities alleged Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll -- dubbed the Queen of Latin Pop - spent more than half of that period in Spain and therefore should have paid taxes in the country.

They say she moved to Spain after her relationship with former FC Barcelona star defender Gerard Pique became public in 2011, but maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas - where tax rates are much lower than in Spain - until 2015.

Shakira's lawyers argued that until 2014, she was leading a "nomadic life" and earned most of her money from international tours, and that she moved permanently to Barcelona just before the birth of her second son in January 2015.

She announced her split from Pique in June 2022 after a decade-long relationship, ending what had been one of the world's most famous celebrity couples. She moved to Miami in April with their two sons, Milan and Sasha.

Her trial had been expected to run until December 14, with the court scheduled to hear from nearly 120 witnesses.

Spanish prosecutors had interviewed her neighbours, tracked her images on social networks, checked payments at hairdressers and even the health clinic she attended during her pregnancy to bolster their accusations.

The Latina superstar was named in one of the largest-ever leaks of financial documents in October 2021, known as the "Pandora Papers," which revealed the wealth and tax avoidance strategies of the global rich.

In her case, it related to residence in the Bahamas.

Spain has in recent years cracked down on celebrities, including football stars such as Argentina's Lionel Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, for not paying their full due in taxes.

Both players were found guilty of evasion and received prison sentences that were waived for first-time offenders.

Shakira won three awards at the Latin Grammy Awards in Seville in southern Spain on Thursday, including for song of the year and best pop song for her collaboration with Argentine DJ Bizarrap on "Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53."

The track takes swipes at her former partner Pique and includes a reference to being left with a "debt to the tax office". It has been played almost 1.5 billion times on Spotify and YouTube.

Agence France-Presse