Pop Star Shakira In Spotlight Again Over 12M Tax Fraud

Story ByMaja Mishevksa, Sub EditorMarija StojkoskaAgencyNewsflash

Spanish treasury officials have confirmed that Colombian pop star Shakira allegedly committed tax fraud of 12.2 million GBP in Spain between 2012 and 2014.

The claim came to light during a trial in Spain in which prosecutors accuse both the singer and her adviser in the United States of six tax crimes by pretending not to reside in Spain and hiding their income through a corporate framework in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

The ministry sent two inspectors to offer expert testimony during the court case against the singer and they confirmed the ministry’s position when offering evidence at Court No.2 in Esplugues de Llobregat in the north-eastern Spanish region of Catalonia, saying that she had committed fraud.

CEN/@shakira

She is accused of evading payment of the Income Tax of the Individuals (Personal Income Tax) between 2012 and 2014 to the tune of 14.5 million EUR (12.2 million GBP), according to reports.

Shakira’s lawyer Jose Angel Gonzalez Franco and his legal representatives in the US, Diego Artacho and Arnau Xumetra, are also reportedly being probed.

However, when summoned to testify last June, Shakira said that her adviser had already paid 20 million EUR (16.8 million GBP) in relation to the debts and interests of 2011, as well as the 14.5 million (16 million dollars) requested for the following years, according to local media.

The singer also said that she only lived in Esplugues de Llobregat in 2015 when she gave birth to her second son. Following that, she only visited the region occasionally to see her football star husband Esplugues de Llobregat, who plays for Barcelona.

Shakira said she lived abroad due to her world tour and role on the US version of The Voice.

Her adviser reportedly told the court in September that he believed she was living in the Bahamas between 2012 and 2014.

He also said that he was informed by the authorities that Shakira only had to pay the tax if she spent more than 183 days in Spain, according to reports.

Meanwhile, prosecutors claim that she moved her professional income through companies domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Malta, Panama and Luxembourg, according to local media.

Shakira will be performing with Jennifer Lopez during the half time show of the Super Bowl on 2nd February where they both plan to pay tribute to basketball star Kobe Bryant who died on 26th January.

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