Singer Shakira pays a further £5.7m to a Spanish court investigating her for unpaid taxes days after agreeing to pay a £6.4m fine in a separate case

Pop singer Shakira has reportedly handed over more than £5.5 million to a court investigating her for another alleged tax fraud.

The £5.7m deposit covers the £5.3m prosecutors claim she avoided, plus interest payments.

The Colombian artist will continue to be investigated for suspected tax infractions in 2018.

This criminal investigation was launched before her admission early last week in a separate case to six counts of tax fraud totaling £12.7 million that she committed in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

But if the ongoing criminal investigation leads to a new trial, settling his tax debt will likely lead to a more lenient sentence, according to respected Catalan newspaper El Periodico.

Authorities confirmed in July that Shakira was being investigated for suspected tax violations in 2018.

A spokesperson for the Supreme Court of Justice of Catalonia said at the time: “The Court of Instruction Number 2 in Esplugues de Llobregat opened proceedings following a complaint filed by prosecutors against the singer Shakira for two alleged tax-related crimes. on income and wealth tax for the Spanish tax year 2018.’

The singer-songwriter has not yet been questioned by a judge. The test, when it takes place, will likely be carried out via video link so that she is spared a forced return to Barcelona from her new base in Miami.

Shakira said after admitting tax fraud in the years 2012 to 2014 last Monday in a court in Barcelona that she did it for her career and for her two children, Milan and Sasha.

In a lengthy statement issued through her public relations representatives, she said: ‘I have to pick my battles and the most important thing for me right now is that my children live a full life and that I focus on what’s really important: see them to grow up and spend time with them, without subjecting them to the anguish of seeing their mother in a legal trial with the damage that this causes.

“They themselves asked me to do this and I made this decision for them.

‘They’ve been through difficult times and I want them to finally see me happy and be able to look to the future together.’

Pointing to the Spanish tax system, she added: “I feel that the system in Spain needs to be reviewed for the benefit of its citizens.

‘And I will continue to be an ally to ensure that happens.

“There are many people who cannot afford good defense lawyers or even reach an out-of-court settlement and have seen their lives crumble before them due to discrepancies with the Spanish Treasury.”

Insisting on her fight to clear her name caused her a huge waste of time and resources, and she added: “I felt ready to face trial and defend my innocence.

“My lawyers were convinced we had a winning case.

‘However, I made this decision after a struggle that lasted many years.

‘I had two options, continue until the end, mortgaging my happiness and that of my children, stop making music and records and touring, not being able to enjoy my career and the things I love, or make a pact and close and leave it for Bring this chapter of my life back with anticipation.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not a triumph if the price you have to pay is that they steal so many years of your life.”

The mother-of-two admitted the offense at a brief public hearing after giving evidence wearing an eye-catching pink pantsuit.

Spanish public prosecutors announced in a pre-trial indictment that they were seeking a prison sentence of eight years and two months for Shakira and a fine of almost 21 million pounds if judges found her guilty of six counts of tax fraud.

The trial, which was supposed to last until December 20th over 12 sessions, did not go ahead as a result of the plea agreement.

Judge Manuel del Amo confirmed in open court, after hearing the singer’s guilty plea, that, in light of the agreement, he was sentencing her to three years in prison – six months for each of the six counts of tax fraud that she admitted.

He then added that her prison time would be replaced by a fine, meaning she would not have to go to prison.

Shakira was fined £6.4 million for the six tax fraud offenses she admitted, less than a third of the amount prosecutors were seeking before the trial.

She had already repaid the tax authorities who accused her of evasion – which, added to the interest, amounted to almost £15 million.

She was also ordered to pay a fine totaling £378,000 to avoid prison.

Source: www.lindaikejisblog.com