Spanish prosecutors have asked for more than eight years in prison and a fine of more than 23 million euros for Colombian star Shakira in a 14.5 million euro tax fraud case, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on Friday, citing Reuters.

The prosecutor’s office and Shakira’s representatives were not available for comment.

The pop star pleaded not guilty this week and rejected a plea deal from prosecutors to end a fraud case that accuses her of failing to pay taxes between 2012 and 2014, a period Shakira says she did not live in. of Spain

According to his lawyers, the possibility of reaching a deal remains in force until the start of the trial in court in Barcelona. An official decision to prosecute the 45-year-old star has not yet been made.

“Absolutely confident of her innocence (…), Shakira does not agree to a plea deal and decides to continue the proceedings before the court,” the singer’s lawyers said in a statement on Wednesday. They also say that she is “confident that justice will give her justice.”

Shakira condemns “complete violation of her rights”

In the same statement, the Colombian singer condemned the “complete violation of her rights” and “abuse of methods” by the Spanish prosecutor’s office.

She says she is “stubborn” to ask for the money raised during her international tours and after the show “The Voice”, where she judged in the US, at a time when she did not yet live in Spain.

Shakira claims that she has already paid 17.2 million euros to the Spanish tax authorities and therefore has no debt to the tax authorities.

The charges brought by the prosecutor’s office against the singer Shakira

The prosecutor’s office accuses the performer of the hits “Hips don’t lie”, “Waka Waka” or “Loca” of tax evasion of 14.5 million euros for 2012, 2013 and 2014.

According to the indictment, Shakira had lived in Spain since 2011, when her relationship with FC Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique was made public, but until 2015 she remained a tax resident in the Bahamas, which was considered a tax haven. In early June, Shakira and Gerard Pique, who have two children, announced their divorce after 11 years of relationship.

For their part, Shakira’s lawyers argue that until 2014, most of the star’s income came from her international tours and that she did not live more than six months a year in Spain, which is a necessary condition to establish her tax residency in the country.

In May, a court in Barcelona rejected the appeal of the singer, who asked to drop the charges.

Shakira’s name was among those mentioned in the Pandora Papers case, a major investigation published in late 2021 by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which accused several hundred individuals of hiding assets in offshore havens, mainly for the purpose of “tax evasion”. .