Colombian pop singer Shakira might withstand eight years in jail in a case the place Spanish prosecutors have accused her of tax fraud.
Shakira, whose full identify is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, is going through six fees alleging she didn’t pay the Spanish authorities almost $15 million in taxes between 2012 and 2014. The prosecutors stated they might additionally search a superb of $24.5 million.
The singer “trusts her innocence and chooses to depart the problem within the fingers of the legislation,” her public relations agency Llorente y Cuenca stated in an announcement Wednesday.
Here is all the things to know concerning the pending tax fraud case:
Will Shakira go to trial for tax evasion?
Shakira’s tax fraud case is predicted to go to trial after the 45-year-old singer rejected a settlement deal supplied by prosecutors. A trial date has not been set but.
If she is convicted, prosecutors are asking the court docket handy down a sentence of eight years and two months.
A decide can waive jail time for first-time offenders if they’re sentenced to lower than two years behind bars.
Tax fraud case: Spanish prosecutors search 8-year jail sentence for singer Shakira
When was Shakira accused of tax fraud?
Prosecutors charged Shakira with tax evasion in December 2018, alleging she didn’t pay tens of millions in taxes to the Spanish authorities between 2012 and 2014.
Shakira listed the Bahamas as her official residence for tax functions throughout these years, however prosecutors say she was actually dwelling in Spain together with her now-ex companion, Spanish soccer participant Gerard Piqué, father of her two kids.
Shakira charged: Spanish court docket hits singer with multi-million greenback tax evasion swimsuit in Spain
What has Shakira stated concerning the tax fraud trial?
Shakira testified earlier than a decide in 2019 as a part of an investigation into her alleged tax evasion and denied any wrongdoing. Her PR agency stated she instantly paid what she owed with curiosity as soon as she was knowledgeable of the debt by the tax workplace.
The case hinges on the place she lived in the course of the years in query.
Beforehand: Shakira denies any wrongdoing in Spanish tax fraud case
The court docket denied her enchantment in Might and really helpful trial.
Spanish Choose Marco Juberías wrote that his three-year probe discovered there existed “adequate proof of criminality” for the case to go to trial.
Contributing: Elise Brisco, USA TODAY, and The Related Press
This text initially appeared on USA TODAY: Shakira’s tax fraud trial: What number of years in jail might she face?
