Shakira pleads guilty to tax evasion and avoids 8 years behind bars in Spain
The Colombian pop star was accused of defrauding the Spanish Treasury of 14.5 million
Colombian superstar Shakira has agreed to pay a million-dollar fine and will avoid a prison sentence after admitting before the Barcelona Court on Monday November 20 that she defrauded the Spanish Treasury of 14.5 million euros between 2012 and 2014.
The Prosecutor’s Office had asked for eight years and two months behind bars but the singer’s lawyers made a deal at the last minute.
The streets surrounding the court house were packed with journalists and fans when Shakira arrived shortly after 10am and although she said that she was “ready to face trial” and defend her innocence, she eventually came “to the conclusion that it is not a triumph to win if the price is that (they) steal so many years of life.”
“I had two options: keep fighting until the end, taking my peace of mind and that of my children, stop making songs, albums and tours, without being able to enjoy my career and the things I like; or agree, close and leave this chapter of my life behind, looking forward,” she added.
But this is far from the end of Shakira’s troubles with the Spanish tax authorities. In September, a court in Esplugues de Llobregat opened an investigation against the Hips Don’t Lie star for allegedly using a corporate network of tax havens to avoid paying a fortune in personal income and wealth tax.
Today, Shakira vowed to continue her fight against these charges which she described as “nonsense”.
Image: Vogue via Wikimedia Commons
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