The Barcelona Court denied the Colombian the appeal she requested to avoid her trial for tax evasion
Image: REUTERS/Eduardo Muñoz
After almost three years of investigations and one of having requested a last resort to avoid being prosecuted for alleged tax evasion in Spain, the Barcelona Court rejected the request made by Shakira and confirmed that the singer must go to trial to answer for this and five other crimes, even though the court has not set a date.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office of that country, the Colombian was responsible for defrauding the nation of 14.5 million euros between the years 2012 and 2014, while her team of lawyers argue that at the time she lived in the Bahamas and her stay in the European country did not exceed the period of time that requires her to pay taxes.
However, the judge asserted that thanks to the investigations they can confirm that, contrary to what was stated by the Latin music star, during the years in question he was already a resident in Spain and therefore had to pay the indicated amount.
In addition, the Spanish justice system argues that there is sufficient evidence to try Shakira as a result of the complaint that the Prosecutor’s Office filed against her for various crimes against the Public Treasury.
And although the possibility of an agreement with the Public Ministry remains open, the interpreter of ‘Waka-waka’ has not managed to avoid the defendants’ bench and file the case, not even having paid the millionaire that the Spanish Tax Agency demanded of her , plus another three million interest.
Through a statement issued by the accused after learning of the decision, she and her team of lawyers warn that they will continue the process to prove her innocence .
A review of the Shakira case
It is key to remember that when the woman from Barranquilla presented her statement to the judge, as an investigator, she maintained that before 2015 she only visited the Catalan capital on time due to her relationship with the soccer player Gerard Piqué.
This premise has been debated because the relationship between the Colombian and the Spanish player began in 2011 and, as a result of that union, they had two children who were born between 2013 and 2015.
However, beyond the days of effective residence, the parties do not discuss either the fee defrauded or the network of companies domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Malta, Panama and Luxembourg with which he channeled the benefits of his professional activity. .
In the accusation against Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripol, the Spanish entity blames her and her tax advisor in the United States of six crimes against the Public Treasury, and indicates that they created a “plan” to avoid paying the taxes that corresponded to them, for which they would have used a network of companies located in tax havens that were formally the owners of the income she received.
Similarly, the complaint adds, the interpreter signed agreements with the Luxembourg tax authorities, the so-called ‘tax ruling’, to achieve certain conditions “ specific and privileged tax laws”, when he already resided in Spain and had the obligation to pay his taxes in this country.
In total, the complaint estimates 12.3 million euros (more than 52,645 million Colombian pesos) the amount that should have been taxed by IRPF (tax on income received) in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and almost 2.2 million euros (more than 9,265 million Colombian pesos ) what it had to pay to the treasury of the region of Catalonia for the heritage of e that he had in those years.
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