Shakira achieves major legal victory in tax fraud case

Following an appeal by Shakira, Spain's High Court has acquitted her of tax fraud relating to the 2011 tax year.

According to Reuters, the judge has overturned the 55 million euro fine which was imposed on Shakira in 2021 by the Spanish tax agency.

The court also ordered the country's Treasury to reimburse the Hips Don't Lie hitmaker with over 60 million euros, including interest.

"This decision comes after an eight-year ordeal that has taken an unacceptable toll, reflecting a lack of rigour in administrative practice," Shakira's lawyer, Jose Luis Prada, told the agency in a statement.

The 49-year-old said that she hoped the ruling would set a precedent for "thousands of ordinary citizens who are abused and crushed every day by a system that presumes them guilty and forces them to prove their innocence while facing financial and emotional ruin."

The tax authorities had claimed that Shakira, who was in a long-term relationship with Spanish footballer Gerard Piqué at the time, was a resident in Spain for tax purposes in 2011.

However, the judge ruled that tax officials failed to prove that the Whenever, Wherever singer spent more than 183 days in the country that year.

The court ruled that the fines were unlawful because they were "based on the assumption that the appellant's tax residence was in Spain for the 2011 fiscal year, a fact which has not been proven."

The ruling does not affect other tax years and this decision can also be appealed to the country's Supreme Court.

Shakira previously settled a separate tax fraud case over the 2012 to 2014 tax years in November 2023. Just as her trial in Barcelona was due to begin, she reached a deal with prosecutors and agreed to pay a fine of over 7 million euros at that time.