Spain’s Supreme Court has shockingly acquitted Shakira of tax fraud — and now the government has to pay her back more than $69.8 million.
Spain’s Supreme Court has issued a verdict acquitting the Colombian singer Shakira of tax fraud, Spanish media reported on Monday, citing the relevant court document.
The court cleared the star and ordered the Ministry of Finance to reimburse her more than $69.8m (€64.5m) in penalties she had already paid, plus accrued interest.
The singer had been accused of evading €14.5m in taxes owed to the Spanish treasury between 2012 and 2014.
In the summer of 2022, the Spanish public prosecutor’s office had asked the court to sentence Shakira to eight years and two months in prison, as well as to impose a fine of €23m for non-payment of taxes. The performer, for her part, had insisted that she had no outstanding debts to the Spanish authorities.
In 2023, it emerged that Shakira would avoid trial for tax fraud in Spain. As part of a separate deal with the court, and to avoid a prison sentence, she paid $15m (€13.8m).
