SHAKIRA is set to receive a handsome £52million payout after being acquitted in a years-long legal battle over tax.
The Colombian pop icon had been accused of defrauding Spanish tax officials of nearly £13million – but will now receive an eye-watering compensation sum.
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Shakira is set to receive a huge £52million reimbursement payout Credit: Reuters
The star was acquitted following a lengthy legal battle over tax fraud Credit: EPA
She is set to be reimbursed with fines she had wrongly paid plus interest, according to court documents.
The star, who formerly dated Barcelona legend Gerard Piqué, said in statement released by her team on Monday: “There was never any fraud, and the Administration itself was never able to prove otherwise, simply because it wasn’t true.
“Even so, for almost a decade, I have been treated as guilty, every step of the process has been leaked, distorted, and amplified, and my name and public image have been used to send a threatening message to other taxpayers.
“After more than eight years of enduring brutal public shaming, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and countless sleepless nights that ultimately affected my health and the well-being of my family, the National Court has finally set things right.”
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Shakira appearing in court in 2023 Credit: AFP
The case revolves around her relationship with Gerard Pique in Barcelona Credit: Getty Images – Getty
She added: “My greatest wish is that this ruling sets a precedent for the Tax Agency and serves the thousands of ordinary citizens who are abused and crushed every day by a system that presumes their guilt.”
The prosecution case was centred on whether Shakira was a resident of Spain or the Bahamas between the start of 2012 and the end of 2014.
She claimed she was a resident in the Bahamas between the three years in dispute – and says she shouldn’t have been considered a Spanish resident for tax purposes, despite starting to date her ex Piqué in 2010.
The court concluded that Shakira was not a tax resident in Spain for the 2011 tax year, and therefore should not have paid either income tax or wealth tax there.
Shakira has already confessed to six tax fraud crimes in November 2023
The star had been accused of defrauding tax officials Credit: Instagram
This contradicted the Spanish Tax Agency’s previous accusation – who forced her to pay large sums of money and hefty fines for allegedly failing to declare taxes.
The agency had said she had a “romantic relationship” in Spain with Piqué, and had her centre of business there.
But authorities were unable to prove the singer resided in Spain for the more than the 183-days-per- year threshold required by law to be considered a tax resident.
The jaw-dropping payslip does not alter the outcome of the criminal case against her, in which fraud has been proven.
The Colombian pop star confessed to six tax fraud crimes in November 2023 at a court in Barcelona and accepted a suspended three-year prison sentence and a £6.4million fine.
She admitted to wrongdoing for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 on the first day of a scheduled trial as part of a plea bargain deal.
The Hips Don’t Lie singer accused the Spanish Treasury of “publicly burning her at the stake” like a witch during the Inquisition in a subsequent no-holds-barred attack from her new home in Miami.
Monday’s ruling is the only one of the four at the centre of the dispute between Shakira and Spanish authorities which was outside the prosecution time limit and could only be settled via administrative proceedings.
In 2018, she was reported to have paid millions to the Spanish taxman so she could subsequently launch the appeal which ended in today’s victory.
Her lawyer previously blamed Pique for her tax woes – and said she would have saved £100million by dating his rival star Sergio Ramos instead.
Pau Molins said her 11-year romance with the retired Barcelona footballer led to her facing six tax fraud charges instead of three.
He said residents in Madrid – where Ramos played for Real – do not pay wealth tax.
But those living in Catalonia, where Shakira lived with Barca ace Pique, are required to pay wealth tax.
In turn, if Shakira had lived with Madrid-based Ramos, she would have saved around £100million due to the Real player not residing in an area where a wealth tax is paid.
Andalucia and Madrid are the only regions in Spain where wealth tax is exempt.
