Prosecutor asks for eight-year jail term for Shakira

A Spanish prosecutor is seeking an eight-year prison sentence for Colombian superstar Shakira over a €14.5 million tax fraud case, a prosecution document showed on Friday.

The singer, who has sold more than 80 million records worldwide with hits like “Hips Don’t Lie,” earlier this week rejected a settlement offer from prosecutors to close the case.

She is accused of not having paid taxes between 2012 and 2014, a period in which Shakira says she does not live in Spain.

The prosecution document, seen by Reuters, states that Shakira habitually resided in Spain between 2012 and 2014 and that in May 2012 she bought a house in Barcelona that became a family home for her, her partner and their son born in Spain. in 2013.

She requested a sentence of eight years in prison and a fine of more than 23 million euros ($23.5 million) if convicted. She has not yet set a trial date.

Asked for comment, Shakira’s representatives referred to a previous statement sent on Wednesday saying that she “is completely sure of her innocence” and that she considers the case “a total violation of her rights.

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Terms of the previous settlement offer have not been disclosed.

The 45-year-old singer, dubbed the Queen of Latin Pop, said she initially paid the 17.2 million euros the Spanish tax office said she owed and says she has no outstanding debt to the tax authorities.

The latest development in the tax case comes a month after Shakira and her husband, FC Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué, announced their separation.

Shakira, 45, and Piqué, 35, have been together since 2011 and have two children. read more

($1 = 0.9783 euros)