Prosecutors have once again accused Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira of defrauding the Spanish treasury of £5.75 million and may face up to eight years in prison if convicted.
The 46-year-old singer is already due to go on trial on November 20 at a court in Barcelona for six counts of tax fraud she allegedly committed in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Daily Mail reports Tuesday that if found guilty of the six counts of tax fraud, amounting to £12.6 million, Shakira could face a prison sentence of up to eight years.
However, Shakira denied any wrongdoing and insisted she would fight the accusations against her in court instead of seeking a last-minute deal with Spanish state prosecutors.
She said she had acted by the law and under the advice of the best tax experts.
Spanish tax inspectors reportedly spent more than a year monitoring Shakira, even visiting her favourite hairdressers in Barcelona and checking her social media to prove that she spent most of the three years in dispute in Spain.
They claimed she had spent 242 days in Spain in 2012, 212 days in 2013 and 243 days in 2014 before indicting her with six counts of tax fraud for those three years.
“The singer’s legal team will not make any comment until the notification reaches her through the formal and legally established channels,” they said in a statement.
They added that Shakira is now based in Miami and must be notified personally at her new address.
“As she has stated on numerous occasions, Shakira asserts that she has always acted in accordance with the law and under the advice of the best tax experts. She is now focused on her artistic life in Miami and is calm and confident that her tax affairs will be resolved favourably,” they added.
