Shakira Dodges Trial by Settling Tax Fraud Case in Spain
Colombian superstar Shakira on Monday reached a last-minute deal with prosecutors in Spain to settle her tax evasion case in the country, thereby avoiding a trial that was about to take place.
The deal means Shakira, 46, will pay a $7.6 million fine and receive a three-year suspended sentence over allegations that she failed to pay about $15.8 million in income taxes. The singer had previously denied six counts of tax fraud and vowed to contest the charges.
Prosecutors claim Shakira failed to pay sufficient income tax between 2012 and 2014. In an indictment in July, they said she had used a “corporate framework” to hide her income and assets in those years, during which authorities say she spent more than half of each year in Spain. Prosecutors said they would seek an eight-year prison sentence as well as a fine of about $26 million.