Shakira Faces A Possible Tax Fraud Trial In Spain

International pop star Shakira could face a tax fraud trial after an investigation led a Spanish judge to recommend a trial.

On Thursday, Judge Marco Juberías revealed the conclusion of his three-year probe into the singer’s financial history. He stated that there is “sufficient evidence for criminality” for the case to go to trial.

Shakira and her team can still appeal the decision.

In December 2019, prosecutors charged the Colombian musician with not paying 14.5 million euros ($16.4 million) in taxes in Spain from 2012 to 2014, during which period she lived in the country, though her official residence was in Panama.

Shakira, for her part, denied any claims of purposeful wrongdoing in her June 2019 testimony. Her public relations firm said that the artist paid all overdue payments as soon as the Tax Office informed her of the debt.

If convicted, she faces the possibility of fines or even jail time, but judges can waive incarceration time for first-time offenders sentenced to less than two years.

This is not the first time Shakira has found herself embroiled in legal trouble, however. Also in 2019, the 44-year-old, along with Carlos Vives, was accused of plagiarizing her hit song “La Bicicleta.” Livan Rafael Castellanos said that the single, which won song and record of the year at the 2016 Grammy Latino Awards, copied his 1997 song “Yo te quiero tanto.”

When she testified before the judge, Shakira said that Castellanos’ song “is nothing like … La Bicicleta, the melody is different, the music is different, the subject matter is different.”

She added, “My (song) talks about my homeland, it’s a salute to my homeland — Barranquilla, Colombia — not Cuba. It’s different.”

The court ruled in favor of Shakira and Vives in May 2019, clearing the two of all allegations.

in 2020, her sexy Super Bowl half-time show Jennifer Lopez received over 1300 complaints to the FCC.