Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Pop Star Shakira Rejects Plea Deal In $14.7 Million Spanish Tax Fraud Case

Pop Star Shakira Rejects Plea Deal In $14.7 Million Spanish Tax Fraud Case

Shakira's lawyers said she earned most of her money from international tours and did not live more than six months a year in Spain and was therefore not a resident under tax law.
Colombian superstar Shakira rejected a plea deal on Spanish tax fraud charges and wants to prove her innocence in court, her lawyers said Wednesday.

Prosecutors accuse the 45-year-old "Hips don't Lie" songstress of defrauding the Spanish tax office out of 14.5 million euros ($14.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014.

They say she moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with FC Barcelona defender Gerard Pique became public but maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.

Her lawyers said Wednesday that the possibility to reach an agreement remained until a trial opens in a Barcelona court.

A formal referral to court has not yet been announced.

Shakira is "absolutely certain of her innocence" and "doesn't accept this deal" with the prosecutor and has decided to let the case go to court, her lawyers said in a statement.

They added Shakira was "confident" her innocence would be proven in court.

The prosecutor did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.

In the statement, Shakira slammed the "complete violation of her rights" and "abusive methods" by the prosecutor.

She also claimed the prosecutor was "insisting on claiming money earned during my international tours and the show 'The Voice'" on which she was a judge in the United States, when she was "not yet resident in Spain".

Shakira was on the singing competition show between 2013 and 2014.

Shakira's defence team argues she moved to Spain full time only in 2015 and has met all tax obligations.

She says she has paid 17.2 million euros to the Spanish tax authorities and she has "no debt to the treasury for many years".

They say that until 2014 she earned most of her money from international tours, did not live more than six months a year in Spain and was therefore not resident under tax law.

A Barcelona court in May dismissed an appeal from the singer to drop the charges.

Shakira had also been named in one of the largest ever leaks of financial documents in October 2021, known as the "Pandora Papers", among public figures linked to offshore assets.

Shakira, who has sold over 60 million albums, separated from Pique in June. The couple have two children.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
×