Shakira could face up to 8 years in prison if she is convicted in a trial for alleged tax fraud.
Prosecutors in Spain have confirmed they will ask a court to jail the Colombian pop star if she is convicted.
Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, is charged with failing to pay the Spanish government 14.5 million euros ($15 million) in taxes between 2012 and 2014. The prosecutors said they would also seek a fine of 24 million euros ($24 million).
Prosecutors said Shakira was spending so much time in Spain — as she was dating the Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué — that she owed the country tax, El País reported.
Shakira and Piqué announced their separation after 11 years last month.
The three-time Grammy winner said since the investigation started she had been legally residing in the Bahamas, El País reported. She said she was not living in Spain, Reuters reported.
The indictment details six charges against the 45-year-old pop star. The singer this week rejected a settlement deal offered by prosecutors, opting to go to trial instead.
In defense, Shakira’s publicists said in a statement released Friday, stating that the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer “has always cooperated and abided by the law, demonstrating impeccable conduct as an individual and a taxpayer.”
Furthermore, a statement from the 45-year-old pop star’s representatives this week maintained that she is “fully confident of her innocence” and says the case is “a total violation of her rights.”
The mother of two deposited what she owes to the government, plus millions more in interest, Shakira’s public relations team claimed this week.
A date for Shakira’s trial has not been set.
Sources: DailyWire, Associated Press, Reuters
