Shakira is in deep legal trouble in Spain, and she may even go to jail for it.
According to reports, a judge has ruled that there are "sufficient indications" for the Colombian pop star to go to trial for allegedly evading €14.5m ($17.2 million) in taxes.
Shakira is being accused of six offenses by Spanish prosecutors, which, if convicted, could land her with a jail sentence.
According to Euro Weekly News, Shakira, whose real name is Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, stopped paying taxes in Spain in 2012, 2013, and 2014 despite having an obligation to do it because her tax residence is in Spain.
The "Whenever, Wherever" hitmaker has maintained from the beginning of the investigation that in those years, she was residing in the Bahamas and only visited Spain "sporadically."
However, tax inspectors were not convinced. Her residency during those years has been questioned, who is also asking about her life in Barcelona with footballer Gerard Piqué.
A court document revealed, "What's important is not so much the residence in the Bahamas, but whether Shakira can be considered a fiscal resident in Spain."
The "Waka Waka" hitmaker should have paid the Spanish income tax, also known as the IRPF, as well as the corporate tax, but instead, the 44-year-old singer used a "series of companies" to hide her true wealth.
Shakira has reportedly only appeared as the genuine holder in the companies "based in territories considered to be tax havens."
Judge Marco Jesus Juberias also backed the arguments of Spain's tax agency and public prosecutors. Still, they indicated that this process phase was about determining whether or not the singer has committed tax fraud, but not the "innocence or guilt" of the former "The Voice" coach.
Only a trial will determine who is right - the tax agency or Shakira.
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But this decision is a significant setback for the "Hips Don't Lie" singer, who has done everything she could to stop the case from going to court.
Under Spanish law, a person is considered a tax resident of the country if they spent 183 days in Spain.
Though the tax agency recognizes that the award-winning singer often travels for work during the years in question, the said trips are said to be sporadic absences given that her residence, where she returned after working, was Barcelona.
Shakira, who has denied the allegations, has already paid €17 million to the Tax Agency.
Shakira has an estimated net worth of $300 million
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