Shakira facing eight-year jail term for tax evasion
Pop star Shakira could be facing a jail term of 8 years if a court in Barcelona finds her guilty of tax evasion. According to international media reports Shakira owes the Spanish government a total of $14,609,988.
The 45-year-old singer is also expected to be charged with six counts of defrauding the state between the year 2012 and 2014.
According to the Daily Mail, Shakira had previously rejected an out-of-court settlement that would have involved her admitting that she was wrong.
It is also reported that she has already paid an amount of $3,652,497 plus interest of money she allegedly owed the treasury. Shakira, who was previously a tax resident in the Bahamas, registered as a resident tax payer in Spain in 2015.
Shakira (full name Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll) is accused of pretending to live abroad and using a complex offshore corporate structure to avoid tax.
The period in which she is being accused of evading tax fraud was when she was in a relationship with Spanish footballer Gerard Pique who lives and plays in Barcelona. Shakira and Pique, who share two children, split up early this year amid infidelity claims.