Reported by: LEXY PEREZ and LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO

Shakira is facing a legal battle after being charged with tax evasion, as prosecutors in Spain alleged she failed to pay the Spanish government 14.5 million euros ($15 million) in taxes between 2012 and 2014. Prosecutors also said if she’s convicted, they would ask a court to sentence her to eight years in prison.

Shakira opened up about the case in her Elle cover story and explained why she chose to reject a settlement deal and fight the accusations.

“Because I have to fight for what I believe; because these are false accusations,” she said. “First of all, I didn’t spend 183 days per year [in Spain] at that time at all. I was busy fulfilling my professional commitments around the world. Second, I’ve paid everything they claimed I owed, even before they filed a lawsuit. So as of today, I owe zero to them.”

She continued, “And finally, I was advised by one of the four biggest tax specialist firms in the world, PricewaterhouseCoopers, so I was confident that I was doing things correctly and transparently from day one.”

Shakira noted that without evidence to support the “fictional claims,” the Spanish tax authorities “have 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.”

Read full report: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/music-news/shakira-alleged-tax-fraud-case-spain-trial-1235225001/amp/

Read full report: https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a41296977/shakira-elle-digital-cover-october-2022/