Renowned Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira is once again in the spotlight, facing fresh allegations of tax fraud for alleged irregularities in her tax returns for 2018.
Spanish prosecutors have accused the 46-year-old artist of defrauding the Spanish treasury out of a substantial sum—this time, £5.75 million.
These new accusations come hot on the heels of her impending trial for six counts of tax fraud, dating back to 2012, 2013, and 2014, set to commence on November 20.
Reports from Spain indicate that the prosecution’s claims center around Shakira’s failure to declare slightly over £13 million in income, along with her purported submission of false deductions totaling around £5.5 million.
Furthermore, Spanish newspaper El Mundo has revealed that the Hips Don’t Lie hitmaker is accused of employing companies in offshore tax havens as part of the alleged tax fraud scheme.
Prosecutors have requested that the investigating judge summon Shakira for questioning, potentially via videolink, as the singer now resides in the United States.
If found guilty of the six counts of tax fraud, amounting to a staggering £12.6 million, Shakira could face a prison sentence of up to eight years.
Despite the serious charges looming over her, Shakira has made it clear that she will contest the accusations in court rather than seek a last-minute settlement with Spanish state prosecutors.