Shakira has agreed to pay the Spanish Treasury an amount exceeding 7.64 million to settle her case and move on. However, her lawyer believes that if she had not fallen in love with Gerard Piqué, she would not have had to pay such a hefty sum.
According to Pau Molins, Shakira’s 11-year romance with the former soccer player led her to face six tax fraud charges instead of three. The lawyer stated that individuals in Barcelona are subject to wealth taxes, whereas those in Madrid are not. “Shakira’s infatuation has cost her 120 million euros,” he revealed.
© GettyImages“If she had fallen in love with Sergio Ramos and not with Piqué,” Molins said, “It would have cost her much less money.”
“They go on about the equality of all Spaniards, but it turns out that if you’re resident in Catalonia you can go to jail for a crime they couldn’t imprison you for in Madrid,” Molins explained.
He proceeded to protect his client by arguing: “With international artists, it’s challenging. Where do they live if they spend all their lives traveling? In 2011, Shakira did a world tour and visited 74 countries. Determining where they should pay their taxes is very complicated,” he assured.
Shakira and the Spanish Tax Agency reached a financial agreement on Monday, November 20th, to end the trial for alleged tax fraud. The singer was accused of owing 14.5 million euros to the Treasury and faced a potential sentence of eight years, two months, and a fine of 23.8 million euros.
© GettyImages“The legal team, aware of the exhaustion and time that this process entails for a singer of international prestige like Shakira, has reached a financial agreement with the prosecution in order to put an end to the process; and thus avoid the impact of the media exposure and the trial time, which on many occasions is of an exhausting length,” reads Shakira’s official statement.
“I felt ready to face a trial and defend my innocence. However, after many years of struggle, I made this decision. I had two options: continue fighting until the end, mortgaging my peace of mind and my children, stop making songs, albums, and tours, or make an agreement, close and leave this chapter of my life behind looking forward,” Shakira said.
© GettyImagesThe artist stated that she had been primarily focused on this process for the last five years. However, in her statement, she assured that she is now looking forward to many commitments and developments in her musical career, which she doesn’t want to postpone further.
