Shakira may not be able to go wherever, whenever (because she's facing prison time)
Shakira's tax evasion trial was officially approved by a Spanish judge; she faces up to 8 years
Her hips don’t lie, but her checkbook might (sorry, we know we’ve already used this joke). This is, at least, according to Spanish prosecutors who accused the pop star of dodging taxes to the tune of €14.5 million back in 2018.
Last week, we reported that the singer was seeking to take her case to court rather than settle, telling ELLE that the prosecutors’ claims were “fictional” and accusing them of having “resorted to a salacious press campaign to try to sway people, and apply pressure in the media along with the threat of reputational damage in order to coerce settlement agreements.”
The trial was officially approved today by a Spanish judge, per AP News. According to the court, the singer will face six counts of tax fraud and could receive up to eight years in prison as well as a hefty fine if found guilty. A date for the trial has not yet been set.
As a reminder, this case largely comes down to a dispute about where the singer spent the majority of her time from 2012-2014, while she was married to Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué. The Spanish government alleges that she spent over half of that period in their country and therefore owes them the €14.5 million, while Shakira’s camp asserts that she not only maintained her official residence in the Bahamas over the two years in question, but has also already paid everything she owes plus an additional €3 million in interest.
However, this writer doesn’t have to wonder—the singer actually spent this time “there over, hereunder,” based on the evidence from this 2001 hit. Just kidding; we’ll leave that to the court to decide. Should she have taken the (plea) deal, my dear? Only time will tell. (Sorry! It’s just. too. easy.)