Spain: Accused Of Lying To Tax Authorities, Singer Shakira Could Soon Be Sent To Jail.

The Colombian singer, married to an FC Barcelona player, allegedly claimed to live in the Bahamas while she lived in Catalonia, Spanish media report.

Shakira is not done with the Spanish tax authorities.

An examining magistrate in Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona, ​​has decided to take the Colombian singer to court. As a reminder, the interpreter of "Waka Waka" was pinned by the tax administration for tax arrears between 2011 and 2014. If Shakira managed to settle the 14.5 million euros in question, justice is now interested in the crime of tax evasion.

The 44-year-old artist allegedly claimed to live in the Bahamas, a tax haven, when in reality she resided in Barcelona between 2012 and 2014. If she is found guilty, Shakira could then go in prison.

Recalling the facts.

Shakira would have resided for tax purposes in Spain in 2015. But according to the conclusions of a careful investigation, the companion of Gerard Piqué would have lived in Catalonia with the FC Barcelona player between 2012 and 2014.

An observation in opposition to his statements : according to the respondent, she would have actually lived in a house in the Caribbean that she acquired in 2007, during which time she was in a relationship with Antonio de la Rua Jr, the son of a former Argentine president.

The Spanish tax inspector in charge of the investigation, however, retraced the daily life of the South American artist in the Catalan capital: French lessons, appointment with the hairdresser, dinners at the restaurant… It seems, according to the conclusions of the Spanish tax authorities, that Shakira spent far more time in Spain than in any other country in the world.

Exactly: 163 days in 2011, 246 in 2012, 210 in 2013 and 243 in 2014. For the Spanish tax authorities, residents must pay taxes when they live more than half of the year in the country.

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Shakira intends to appeal

In the midst of promoting her new single, Don’t Wait Up, Shakira is making her comeback after a four-year hiatus. This cumbersome legal case could complicate its comeback in the bins, with the approach of a new album scheduled for 2022.

Regarding the accusations of tax evasion, the main interested party denied en bloc, claiming to have lived "sporadically" " in Spain.

To prove her good faith, she provided a permit for permanent residence in the Bahamas, a document of little legal value as it is given to anyone who buys a house in the archipelago.

The electricity bills provided by the singer don't prove much either, as other people could have occupied her sublime property. According to El Pais, Shakira is reportedly planning to appeal to the Barcelona court.