Shakira could go to trial for alleged tax evasion in Spain 1:32
(CNN Spanish) --
The Colombian singer Shakira will face an oral trial for six alleged crimes against the Public Treasury of Spain.
A judge says that the artist has defrauded the Spanish treasury but the singer denies these accusations.
The case dates back to 2018 when the Barcelona Prosecutor's Office filed a complaint against Shakira for six crimes against the Public Treasury in which she is accused of defrauding more than 14 million euros (about 15.8 million dollars at that time).
This is what we know about the case.
The beginning of the case Treasury vs.
Shakira
In December 2018, the Barcelona Prosecutor's Office said in a complaint filed against the Colombian artist that Shakira did not submit the liquidation of the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) and Wealth Tax (IP) corresponding to 2012, 2013 and 2014.
This caused economic damage to the Public Treasury of 12.3 million for personal income tax and 2.19 million for wealth tax, in this case to the Agència Tributària de Catalunya.
advertising
Shakira said at that time that between 2012, 2013 and 2014 she did not reside in Spanish territory and that for this reason she had not carried out any activity or received any income in Spain.
This is how Shakira celebrated her Latin Grammy nomination 0:53
Shakira "evaded" taxes, says the Prosecutor's Office
According to the document presented in 2018, which was accessed by CNN at the time, the artist "used a corporate structure to avoid taxation of the income received from her professional activity and her image rights" (Page 3).
These companies that were part of the business network are located in places such as the British Virgin Islands, the Netherlands, Panama and Luxembourg.
"There is no debt," says Shakira
In February 2019, the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia summoned Shakira to testify in the case of fraud against the Treasury, for June 12, 2019.
After appearing in court in Barcelona, her communications agency said in a statement that the singer "has complied at all times, including in the period between 2011 and 2014, with her tax obligations in all those countries in which she has worked ( including the US) and does not owe any amount to the Spanish Treasury," said Llorente y Cuenca.
Shakira's representative agency said that before the lawsuit was filed in 2018, "Shakira proceeded to pay the amount in full, in addition to providing exhaustive information to the Treasury. Therefore, there is currently no debt," the communication adds.
Shakira and Ozuna's new musical collaboration 0:40
Shakira's residency theme
Shakira's place of residence is key in this case.
According to the Spanish tax code, anyone who resides in this country for at least six months and one day (or 183 days) in a given year is responsible for paying taxes in Spain.
And Judge Marco Jesus Juberias, who filed the complaint, the Colombian lived more than 200 days in Spain in each of those three years (2012, 2013 and 2014), making her responsible for paying taxes in Spain.
In 2021, Juberias said that in the investigation so far, Spain's tax agency and Shakira's lawyers have argued over the meaning of "main residence."
Spanish media reported that Shakira's team argued that the singer's main residence was in the Bahamas in the years in question.
But local media also said that she has a house in the Barcelona area, with her then-partner, FC Barcelona soccer defender Gerard Piqué, with whom she has two children.
Since 2015 Shakira's official residence is in Barcelona.
Shakira will go to trial
Shakira
will face an oral trial for six alleged crimes against the Public Treasury of Spain, as determined by Judge Ana Duro Palencia, of the Investigating Court 2 of Esplugues de Llobregat, a municipality in the province of Barcelona, in a resolution that was published this Tuesday.
According to a statement that Shakira's communications agency delivered to Agencia EFE, the singer's defense considers that the oral trial will be a "further step" in the "usual" process of these characteristics and they added that Shakira's legal team emphasizes that he will do his job by pronouncing his arguments at the right time, through the defense brief.
CNN has been seeking the Colombian's reaction with her representatives, but has not yet received a response.
-- With information from Claudia Rebaza, Ana Victoria Cucalón and Florencia Trucco from CNN en Español.
Shakira