Shakira is accused in Spain of tax fraud

Shakira is accused in Spain of tax fraud and will have to face the legal system and defend her position on the matter.

The Spanish prosecutor’s office accuses Shakira of defrauding the tax authorities with more than 6 million euros in income tax declarations.

Additionally, Shakira is accused in Spain of evading the wealth tax in 2018, using a network of companies based in tax havens for this purpose.

This is what the Spanish public prosecutor’s office alleges in the lawsuit filed against the artist three months ago, which has been served to her address in Miami.

This accusation led to a second case being opened against her in a court in Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona) for two counts of tax evasion.

Shakira is scheduled to be tried starting November 20th at the Barcelona Court for defrauding 14.5 million euros between the years 2012 and 2014.

This would be another case stemming from a complaint by the Economic Crimes Prosecutor’s Office in that Spanish city.

In this instance, the Spanish prosecutor’s office suggests that the Colombian artist may testify as a suspect via videoconference from her home in the United States.

It’s worth noting that Shakira moved from Barcelona after her breakup with former footballer Gerard Piqué.

Shakira is accused in Spain of several crimes

Spanish authorities allege that the singer defrauded the Spanish Tax Agency of 5.3 million euros in personal income tax (IRPF) related to the earnings from her 2018 tour “El Dorado.“

Additionally, she is accused of evading 773,600 euros in wealth tax for her 12 million euros’ worth of real estate and financial assets.

According to the allegations, in order to defraud the tax authorities, Shakira used a network of companies and filed “false tax declarations.”

She allegedly failed to declare income and claimed expenses that were not legitimate, thus reducing her tax liability.

According to the complaint, Shakira received part of her earnings from the assignment of her musical rights through a company established in Luxembourg, with which she signed several “simulated contracts.”

This allowed her to benefit from a significantly lower tax rate, which in 2018 stood at 1.39 percent.

The Luxembourg company, in the view of the Prosecutor’s Office, was “merely an intermediary company for tax purposes” and did not engage in any actual activities beyond formal and administrative intervention.

The lawsuit also claims that Shakira used another instrumental company established in Spain in 2017 to “account for the income and expenses” of her “El Dorado” tour, which included 53 concerts in 22 countries, even though the company also lacked real activity.

Shakira is accused in Spain, and the Economic Crimes Prosecutor’s Office’s complaint mentions 17 other “instrumental” companies located in the Netherlands, Malta, the British Virgin Islands, Panama, the Bahamas, Miami, New York, and Liechtenstein.

These were allegedly used to manage her music career’s income, as well as her real estate and financial assets.

Furthermore, the public prosecutor’s office believes that Shakira falsely claimed seven million euros in expenses for her companies, in some cases because they were double-counted and in others because they were of a “mainly personal” nature.

Shakira is awaiting trial for another tax fraud lawsuit filed against her by the public prosecutor’s office in 2018, a case that proceeded despite the artist returning 17.2 million euros to the Tax Agency.

In that case, the prosecutor’s office is seeking an eight-year and two-month prison sentence and a fine of 23.8 million euros for the Colombian singer.

In July of last year, Shakira rejected a settlement with the prosecutor’s office and decided to proceed with the trial.

Also read: There is now a Shakira Day.