Shakira Faces Tax Trial In Spain After Rejecting Plea Deal

Shakira has rejected a settlement offer by Spanish prosecutors in her 14.5 million euro tax fraud case, opting to face trial instead.

Shakira is “fully confident of her innocence and therefore does not accept a settlement,” her public relations team said in a statement.

The 45-year-old Colombian pop superstar “trusts her innocence and chooses to leave the issue in the hands of the law,” according to the PR firm Llorente y Cuenca.

Shakira, who claims the she has always paid her tax dues, alleges that the case is “a total violation” of her rights.

“The singer is fully confident of her innocence and therefore does not accept a settlement,” the statement said.

In a tax evasion case charged by the prosecutors, Shakira is accused of defaulting payment of 14.5 million euros in taxes on income earned during 2012-2014.

Shakira’s representatives say she did not live in Spain during this period. It was in 2015 that “the Queen of Latin Music” started residing in Spanish capital Barcelona with her boyfriend FC Barcelona star Gerard Pique.

On Friday, Spanish prosecutors said they would seek an eight-year prisons sentence if Shakira is convicted.

(Photo: Xavi Menos)

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