Shakira Tax Fraud Case Takes Next Step as Judge Orders Spain Trial, 8-Year Prison Sentence Still on the Table

Grammy-winning singer Shakira is one step closer to being charged with tax fraud against the Public Treasury of Spain and is going on trial in Spain, according to a resolution released on Tuesday.

A Barcelona judge said the case should go to trial, but no date has been set yet. Spanish prosecutors claim Shakira did not pay her income and wealth tax from 2012 to 2014, which is worth about $15.8 million right now. She has denied this, according to CNN.

Shakira Has No Outstanding Debts, Says Her Lawyer

The case centers on Shakira's residency during 2012-2014.

Her lawyers say that she only moved to Spain for good in 2015 and that she has paid all of her taxes. They also said that until 2014, most of her money came from tours around the world.

The "Waka-Waka" singer says she has paid €17.2 million in taxes to the Spanish government and does not owe any money. She also says that Spanish authorities are after the money she made from her world tours and from being a judge on The Voice.

Shakira has said she became a judge on The Voice USA while she was still not living in Spain. In May, the singer, whose records have sold more than 60 million copies, went to court in Barcelona to try to get the charges dropped, but he was unsuccessful.

Two months later, she turned down the plea deal, saying she wanted to go to trial and prove her innocence, Business Times reported.

Shakira Tax Fraud and Other Crisis

Shakira admitted to Elle that this was "probably one of the most difficult, darkest hours of my life."

The Shakira lawsuit just added weight to her current problems, such as separation from her ex-husband, Gerard Pique, a custody struggle for their children, and her father's illness.

Meanwhile, Shakira will face six charges of tax fraud, according to the court located in Esplugues de Llobregat, a town close to Barcelona. The trial's start time has not yet been determined, as reported by NBC News.

Although her official residency was in the Bahamas, the prosecutors in Barcelona say that the "Hips Don't Lie" singer spent more than half of 2012-2014 in Spain and should have paid taxes there.

Shakira, who goes by her full name, Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, has been linked to Spain ever since she started dating soccer player Gerard Pique. They have two kids together and used to live in Barcelona. However, their 11-year relationship has recently ended.

Spain has been tough on soccer players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have not paid their fair share of taxes over the past ten years.

Even though they were both found guilty of evasion, they did not have to go to jail because of a rule that says judges can suspend sentences of less than two years for first-time offenders.

Meanwhile, her spokesperson made a statement in July that said, "Shakira and her team consider that this case constitutes a total violation of her rights since she has always shown impeccable behavior, as a person and taxpayer, and a total willingness to resolve any disagreement from the beginning, even before the criminal process."

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Written by: Bert Hoover

Watch: Shakira Faces 8-Year Prison Sentence & $24 Million Fine in Spain Over Tax Fraud Charges - From Access