Shakira, accused of six crimes: a Spanish prosecutor asks for eight years in prison for the singer

The public prosecutor of Barcelona asked for it eight years and two months of imprisonment for the Colombian singer Shakira, who accuses six crimes against the public treasury involving a fraud of 14.5 million euros between 2012 and 2014, for pretending not to reside in Spain.

The public ministry presented its indictment before the court in charge of the procedure, after the Barcelona court confirmed that it should have gone to trial, given the indications that since 2012 the singer resided in Spain and, therefore, since then he was obliged to pay taxes in that country.

Already the Colombian artist returned € 14.5 million requested by the Spanish Revenue Agency, plus another three million in interest. However, this does not free her from sitting on the bench. About her She is prosecuted following a complaint that the Barcelona Public Prosecutor’s Office filed against her for six crimes against the public treasury.

On Wednesday, the singer’s communications agency announced that Shakira he had rejected the agreement offered by the Prosecutor’s Office to avoid being judged, given that, it has been communicated, she “fully” trusts her innocence.

Her legal team had talks with the Barcelona Public Prosecutor’s Office to reach an agreement that would reduce the sentence she could pay, but in the end the artist’s legal representatives they refused the latest offer from the public ministry.

In a statement, Shakira assured that she had chosen to “leave the matter in the hands of the law, with the peace and trust that justice will prove him right“.

However, the option of a transaction exists until the day of the process.

The Colombian’s will has always been to move on in the criminal trial, without being satisfied with a reduction of the sentence that could correspond to him, the statement emphasizes.

The Spanish Treasury asked for around 14.5 million euros when it saw indications that in 2012 the singer was already residing in Spain and was obliged to pay taxes in that country since then, but presumably hidden income through a network of companies based in tax havens.

The case dates back to 2017, when the so-called “heaven cards”, a survey carried out by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), revealed that Shakira She lived in Barcelona with her then husbandFC Barcelona footballer Gerard Piqué and his two sons, but has been listed in several documents as domiciled in the tax haven of the Bahamas.

Last month the artist announced his separation from the player, his partner for twelve years.

The investigation also ensured that the singer was faring in two countries with tax advantages, Malta and Luxembourg, some 31.6 million euros for the copyright of their songs.

The singer’s lawyers have clarified that she lived in the Bahamas since 2004 but in the following years she had to travel “without stopping”, that until 2015 her presence in Spain did not exceed the period that requires the payment of taxes and that the management of those millions made since 2007 through a Maltese company that “meets all legal requirements”.

Source: EFE.