Spanish prosecutors stated they would seek for a prison sentence of over eight years against global star ‘Shakira’ after she rejected a plea deal on charges of tax evasion.
The statement came on Friday, July 29 and prosecutors in Barcelona will also ask for a fine of about 24 million euros ($24.5 million) from the music superstar, whom they blame for defrauding the Spanish tax office of 14.5 million euros on income which she earned between 2012 and 2014.
Colombian singer Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, who has sold more than 60 million albums, rejected a plea deal on Wednesday, July 27, stating in a statement through her lawyers that she was very certain that she was innocent and had decided to let the case go to court as she is confident that she will be proved innocent.
A formal referral to the court has not yet been made, neither any trial date been set.
Shakira’s lawyers stated that an agreement could be made till the start of any trial.
Meanwhile, the prosecutors state that Shakira came to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique was made public but maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas till 2015. Recently, the couple, who have two kids, announced their separation last month.
On Wednesday, July 27, the global music star slammed that her rights were completely violated, and abusive methods were being carried out by the prosecutor’s office.
She asserted prosecutors were insisting on claiming money earned during her international tours and the show ‘The Voice’ of which she was a judge in the US when she was not yet resident in Spain.
Her lawyers further asserted that till 2014 she earned most of her money through international tours and moved to Spain full time only in 2015 and has since then met all tax obligations.
She said that she has paid 17.2 million euros to Spanish tax authorities and that she has had no debt to the Treasury for several years.
A Barcelona court dismissed an appeal in May from the Queen of Latin Music to drop the charges.
