Shakira poses on the red carpet during the 24th Annual Latin Grammy Awards show in Seville, Spain, November 16, 2023. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
BARCELONA, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Shakira is to stand trial in Barcelona on Monday to face charges that she failed to pay 14.5 million euros ($15.74 million) in Spanish income tax between 2012 and 2014.
The ‘Hips Don’t Lie’ Colombian megastar, who also has a second tax fraud investigation pending with Spanish authorities, has vowed to fight what she called false accusations.
Shakira says she had paid what the tax office said was owed before it filed a lawsuit, and insists she was not living in Spain during the period as her work led to a “nomadic life”.
She rejected a settlement offer from the prosecutor’s office to close the case and is expected to testify on Monday in the first of 12 hearings scheduled until Dec. 14.
The prosecutor’s office is seeking an up to eight-year prison term and to claim back the taxes it says she owes.
It alleges that Shakira spent more than half of each of the years in question in Spain and was therefore ordinarily resident in the country. It also says that a Barcelona property she…
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