Spain Prosecutors Asks For Eight-Year Prison Sentence For Shakira: Report

 In connection with a 14.5 million euro tax fraud case, a prosecutor from Spain reportedly asked for a sentence of more than eight years in prison and more than 23 million euros ($23.51 million) for Colombian pop star Shakira.

Spanish daily El Pais first reported on July 29 that a prosecutor had requested more than eight years in prison and a sentence of more than 23 million euros ($23.51 million) for Shakira in connection with a 14.5 million euro tax fraud case. However, both Shakira's team and the prosecutor's office have not releases any statement. Now, the court will choose whether to hold a trial and choose a date for it.

Spain Prosecutors Asks For Eight-Year Prison Sentence For Shakira:

According to her public relations staff, Shakira had previously decided to go to trial rather than accept a plea agreement from Spanish prosecutors to resolve claims that she defrauded the Spanish government of 14.5 million euros in taxes. The 45-year-old singer Shakira "trusts her innocence and chose to put the issue in the hands of the authorities," according to a statement from the PR agency Llorente y Cuenca.

The singer was accused by Spanish authorities of failing to pay 14.5 million euros in taxes on income received between 2012 and 2014. If she is found guilty of tax evasion, she might be sentenced to a fine and prison. No immediate information was available on the agreement the prosecutors proposed. The trial has not yet been scheduled.

According to Shakira's public relations firm, she deposited the money she is said to owe to the Spanish Tax Agency and does not currently owe any taxes. The artist's residence is the central issue in the case. Despite having an official residency in the Bahamas, the prosecution claims that she spent the majority of her time in Spain.

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Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, has two kids with Barcelona football star Gerard Pique. An individual is required to pay income tax in Spain if they are present for more than six months. Shakira contended that she spent most of her time in the Bahamas and only occasionally travelled to Spain to visit her ex-partner, Gerard Piqué. After enrolling their son Milan in a Spanish school in 2014, the singer claimed she was compelled to begin paying income tax in that country.

After around 12 years of dating, Shakira and Piqué announced their breakup last month. Piqué was reportedly found guilty in 2016 of cheating the tax authorities from 2008 to 2010. He filed an appeal, but in 2019 he was told to pay 2.1 million euros ($2.7 million) in penalties and unpaid taxes.