Shakira faces a prison sentence for an alleged fraud of 15 million dollars

Shakira in legal trouble. The Colombian singer will be tried in Spain accused of defrauding 14.5 million euros ( about 15.5 million dollars ) to the Treasury, pretending not to reside in the country and hiding income through a network-based in tax havens.

The Barcelona Court dismissed last Thursday the singer’s appeal to avoid trial and confirmed that there are sufficient indications to try her as a result of the complaint that the Prosecutor’s Office filed against her for six crimes against the Spanish Public Treasury.

Shakira has already paid the 14.5 million euros that the Spanish Tax Agency demanded – plus another three million in interest – for an alleged tax fraud committed between 2012 and 2014, which does not prevent her from ending up sitting on the bench, at the request of the Prosecutor.

DEFENDS

After knowing the decision of the Barcelona Court, the singer announced through a statement that she will continue to defend her innocence in court with her legal team and insisted that her conduct in tax matters “has always been faultless” in all the countries in those who have had to pay taxes.

The statement insists that the Court has not entered into assessing whether Shakira committed tax fraud “nor does it dismiss the arguments raised by the defense”, but rather limits itself to “calling on the parties to present their allegations at a procedural moment other than the current one” .

For this reason, the Colombian artist assures that her legal team will continue to defend her innocence, as it has done until now, “through the presentation of weighty legal arguments, verifiable evidence and expert reports from professionals of recognized prestige in the tax field.” , including a professor and a magistrate of the Supreme Court.

Shakira emphasizes in the statement that her tax conduct has been “irreproachable” and that she has “trusted and faithfully followed the criteria of the best specialists and expert advisors.