Shakira set for trial in £12m Spanish tax fraud case

Prosecutor has asked for an eight-year prison sentence

Spain

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A prosecutor is Spain is seeking an eight-year prison term for Colombian singer Shakira as part of a €14.5m (£12.3m, $14.8m) tax fraud case.

According to Reuters, the request came after the singer rejected an offer from the prosecutor to settle the charges.

The terms of the settlement offer were not disclosed and a date for a trial is yet to be set.

She is accused of failing to pay taxes in Spain between 2012 and 2014, although Shakira claimed she did not live in the country at the time.

But the prosecutors alleged this to be untrue as she bought a house in Barcelona in 2012 which became a family home for herself, her footballer husband Gerald Pique and son, who was born in Spain in 2013.

Now the singer is facing a potential eight-year prison term and a €23m fine if she is found guilty.

Spanish football and tax

Shakira is not the only famous icon that has been caught in the Spanish taxman’s crosshairs.

High-profile names include Pique, Carlo AncelottiLionel MessiCristiano Ronaldo, Javier Mascherano, Samuel Etoo, Alexis Sanchez, and Diego Costa.

Football manager Jose Mourinho also admitted failing to pay tax.

Former Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, however, was cleared of three counts of tax fraud on 26 November 2019.

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