Shakira insists she is innocent after being questioned over alleged £13million tax evasion in Spain

Shakira insists she is innocent of wrongdoing after being questioned by a Spanish judge over alleged £13million tax evasion

  • Shakira has insisted that she is innocent of a £13million tax evasion in Spain
  • Hips Don’t Lie Singer was being questioned by a Spanish judge near Barcelona
  • Prosecutors claim she didn’t pay tax from 2011 to 2014 despite being a resident 

Shakira has insisted she is innocent of a €14.5million (£13million) tax evasion after being questioned by a Spanish judge.

The Hips Don’t Lie singer denied allegations of not paying tax when she lived in Spain between 2011 and 2014, during an hour and a half long hearing in Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona.

Prosecutors claim that the 42-year-old Colombian superstar failed to pay taxes in Spain despite being a resident in the country for four years before 2014.

The Whenever, Wherever singer lives in Barcelona with footballer Gerard Pique and their two young sons.

Shakira has insisted she is innocent of a £13million tax evasion after being questioned by a Spanish judge during a hearing in Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona

The Hips Don't Lie singer allegedly failed to pay tax to the Spanish state between 2011 to 2014 despite being a resident, claim prosecutors. (Pictured) Shakira leaving court by car

The Hips Don’t Lie singer allegedly failed to pay tax to the Spanish state between 2011 to 2014 despite being a resident, claim prosecutors. (Pictured) Shakira leaving court by car

While she is alleged to have moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with Pique was made public, prosecutors claim she maintained her official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015 when she started paying taxes in Spain.

The case only covers the period from 2012 to 2014, as the time frame to prosecute alleged tax offences in 2011 has expired. 

Entering the courtroom through a side door, the Waka Waka singer avoided speaking to reporters. 

Her press team later released a statement stating the Colombian Superstar was innocent and everything claimed by tax authorities had been paid.

‘There is currently no debt’, it said. 

Her defence team had previously argued that until 2014 she earned most of her money in international tours and did not live more than six months a year in Spain – and was therefore not a resident under tax law.

The Whenever, Wherever singer is alleged to have moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with footballer Gerard Pique was made public. However, according to prosecutors, she kept her official tax residency as the Bahamas until 2015

The Whenever, Wherever singer is alleged to have moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with footballer Gerard Pique was made public. However, according to prosecutors, she kept her official tax residency as the Bahamas until 2015

In a statement her press team said the 42-year-old Colombian superstar had paid everything that had been claimed by tax authorities

In a statement her press team said the 42-year-old Colombian superstar had paid everything that had been claimed by tax authorities

The statement said: ‘Shakira has always fulfilled her tax duties in all those countries in which she has worked, including in the period between 2011 and 2014’/ 

‘She followed the opinions and precise recommendations of her advisers, who are top-level professionals from one of the biggest companies in the world.’

This is the second time in just over two months that Shakira has appeared in court in Spain after having denied allegations she and Colombian singer Carlos Vives plagiarised part of their Grammy award-winning hit ‘La Bicicleta’.

The Madrid court subsequently cleared her and Vives, saying there had been ‘no plagiarism whatsoever’.

With her mix of Latin and Arabic rhythms and rock influences, Shakira is one of the biggest stars from Latin America, scoring major global hits with songs such as ‘She Wolf’ and ‘Waka Waka’. 

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