Singer, Shakira settled her tax evasion suit with the Spanish authorities on Monday, November 20 avoiding a lengthy trial that would have cost her a possible three year jail sentence.
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At the beginning of court proceedings, the judge announced a last-minute agreement submitted by the government and Shakira’s legal counsel to avoid trial. Shakira was asked by the judge if she was aware of the deal and the latest fines agreed to which the singer responded yes.
A statement released by the singer’s management shortly afterwards announced her lawyers reached an agreement to end a tax case that covered the years between 2012 and 2014.
Prosecutors had accused the superstar of defrauding the Spanish state of 14.5 million euros ($15.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014.
Spanish authorities alleged Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll spent more than half of that period in Spain and, therefore, should have paid taxes in the country.
They say she moved to Spain after her relationship with former FC Barcelona star defender Gerard Pique became public in 2011. But that she maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.
Shakira’s lawyers argued that until 2014, she was leading a “nomadic life” and earned most of her money from international tours. And that she moved permanently to Barcelona just before the birth of her second son in January 2015.
Shakira said in a statement that she “was ready to face trial and defend my innocence,” but came “to the conclusion that it is not a triumph to win if the price is that (they) steal so many years of life.”
She said she had agreed to settle for the sake of her two sons, Milan and Sasha.
“I need to move past the stress and emotional toll of the last several years and focus on the things I love. They are my kids and all the opportunities to come in my career. There is also my upcoming world tour and my new album,” she said in the statement issued by her lawyers.
“I admire tremendously those who have fought these injustices to the end. But for me, today, winning is getting my time back for my kids and my career.”
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