The Colombian defender, wearing a straight pantsuit and wearing sunglasses, appeared in court at around ten o’clock on Monday without making any statements to the press.
The judge announced shortly afterwards that Shakira had entered into an agreement with the prosecutor’s office to avoid trial on the charges that she had failed to pay 14.5 million euros in taxes in Spain in 2012 and 2014. As part of the deal, which marks the end of the trial, the prosecution exchanged a prison sentence for a fine, the judge said.
Shakira leaving court (Barcelona, November 20, 2023)
Shakira informed the presiding judge that she would accept the agreement with the defendants, and confirmed that she would plead guilty to six charges. As part of the agreement, he paid two fines, one in the amount of 7.3 million euros (178 million crowns) and another in 438 thousand euros (10 million crowns) in order to avoid a conditional sentence of imprisonment.
The decision to close the deal is a reaction to personal, emotional and sentimental reasons that have nothing to do with the first reasons, Shakira said in a statement issued by the Spanish media agency that represents her. Suddenly, she added that she was ready to lose her innocence, but decided to prioritize her career and children. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not lost in a relationship if the price is to save years of my life, she added.
The decision was motivated by personal issues, one of Shakira’s first cousins told the newspaper in front of the courthouse. She added that the first team was convinced to prove my innocence, but the circumstances changed.
Shakira leaving court (Barcelona, November 20, 2023)
The public relations firm that represents Shakira claims to have suddenly paid off all her debts and given her millions of euros in rent.
Shakira got into trouble with the Spanish judiciary because of the tax rules, which state that if a resident stays in Spain for no more than half a year, he has to pay tax there. Suddenly, Medn insisted on living in the Bahamas and claimed that she had made no mistake. The prosecutor’s office gave her a sentence of no more than eight years in prison and a fine of 23 million euros, i.e. around 563 million crowns in total.
The representative office stated that Shakira spent more than half of each of the mentioned years in Spain, which means she was a resident. It came to the conclusion that the property in Barcelona, which she suddenly bought in May 2012, served as a family home. Shakira lived for 11 years with Spanish football player Gerard Pique, with whom she has two children. After their breakup, she moved to Miami.
According to Zvka, the second Polish company was sued for tax fraud from 2018. The state representative accused it of tax evasion in the amount of 6.7 million euros from its income for 2018, according to him, it used an offshore company based in a tax haven to evade taxes .
Shakira was one of the victims in the Paradise Papers case, which describes in detail the tax collectors of many famous personalities, including Madonna and the singer Bono.
The Spanish ranks also attracted a number of other celebrities, including footballers Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Diego Costa. The Vichni eventually settled with the prosecutor’s office and paid a large fine.
