Shakira is being investigated for alleged tax fraud in Spain for the second time.
The singer was first charged with tax fraud in July 2021, when Barcelona prosecutors alleged she should have been paying tax because she was living in Spain for over half the year between 2012 and 2014.
She allegedly owes authorities $13.9million (£13m). Shakira has maintained that her fiscal residence at the time was in the Bahamas and described the claims as “fictional”, saying she had paid what she had owed.
The authorities also alleged that she made widespread use of shell companies to conceal her income made at that time, claims Shakira has strenuously denied, saying she has always been transparent about her income.
Now, the Associated Press reports that a Spanish judge has agreed with prosecutors to investigate Shakira on two additional counts of alleged tax fraud that reportedly happened in 2018. The amount of money she is alleged to owe the tax department has not been made public.
In September 2022, a Spanish judge ordered Shakira’s first case of alleged tax fraud to trial. A date for the trial has not yet been confirmed. If found guilty, she could face at least eight years and two months in prison.
Shakira’s representatives have claimed that she “has always cooperated and abided by the law, demonstrating impeccable conduct as an individual and a taxpayer, and faithfully following the counsel of PriceWaterhouse Coopers, a prestigious and globally recognized tax firm.”
Her representatives added: “Unfortunately, the Spanish Tax Office, which loses one out of every two lawsuits with its taxpayers, continues to violate her rights and pursue yet another baseless case. Shakira is confident that her innocence will be proven by the end of the judicial process.”
Shakira’s recent viral hit ‘Bzrp Music Sessions 53’ made reference to the situation. The song, which is thought by some to hit out at her ex-husband Gerard Pique, mentions (as translated into English) being left with “your mum as a neighbour, the press at the door and a debt with the taxman.” The Spain-based Pique is not involved in the tax charges made against Shakira.