Shakira could face trial in Spain for alleged tax evasion worth €14.5 million.
Spanish prosecutors are accusing the 44-year-old Colombian singer of 6-count crimes that could lead to jail time if found guilty.
According to them, the hitmaker Hips Don’t Lie stopped paying taxes in Spain in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Shakira previously said that she lived in the Bahamas in those years and was not a resident of Spain, but only “from time to time” visited the country.
Now the judge has concluded that there are “sufficient grounds” for Shakira to stand trial for allegedly evading the payment of 14.5 million euros, Euro Weekly reports.
Shakira plans to appeal to the court of Barcelona.
Earlier, during interrogation in the court of Spain, the singer insisted that she was innocent of tax evasion.
She denied the tax evasion claim when she lived in Spain between 2011 and 2014, for an hour and a lengthy hearing in Espluges de Llobregat, near Barcelona.
Prosecutors claimed that the superstar did not pay taxes in Spain, even though she lived in the country for four years.
The case only covers the period from 2012 to 2014, as the deadline for prosecuting alleged tax offenses in 2011 has already expired.
Later, her press service issued a statement saying that the Colombian superstar was innocent and all the demands of the tax authorities had been paid.
“There is currently no debt,” the report said.
Her defense group argued that until 2014 she earned most of her money on international tours and did not live more than six months a year in Spain – and therefore was not a resident under tax law.
The statement said: “Shakira has always fulfilled her tax duties in all countries in which she worked, including between 2011 and 2014.”
“She followed the opinion and precise recommendations of her consultants, who are top-level professionals from one of the largest companies in the world.”
Shakira is one of the biggest stars in Latin America; she became the author of major world hits like “She Wolf” and “Waka Waka.”
