Colombian superstar Shakira has broken her silence on her highly publicized tax fraud case in Spain.
In a letter published in El Mundo, Shakira criticized the Spanish authorities, accusing them of attempting to tarnish her reputation for their own gain.
Despite denying any wrongdoing, Shakira agreed to pay a $7.5 million fine last year to avoid a potential prison sentence.
She revealed that her decision to settle was motivated by her desire to prioritize her two young sons, Milan and Sasha.
Shakira emphasized that she wants to leave a legacy of integrity and strength for her children, explaining that she chose to protect them and move forward with her life rather than out of fear or guilt.
“I want to leave my children the legacy of a woman who explained her reasons calmly and in her own time, when she considered it necessary, not when she was forced to,” Shakira wrote. “I need them to know that I made the decisions I made to protect them, be by their side, and get on with my life. Not out of cowardice or guilt.”
The 47-year-old singer has been accused of tax fraud since 2018. Authorities claim she owed nearly $16 million in unpaid income tax for the period between 2012 and 2014 when they alleged she was a Spanish resident.
In her letter, Shakira revealed that 2023 was marked by intense media scrutiny during her highly publicized court trial, when she split from longtime partner Gerard Piqué.
She accused Spanish tax authorities of attempting to publicly discredit her, rather than listening to her side of the story.
Shakira vehemently denied allegations of tax evasion, calling the claims a “contrived story” aimed at creating non-existent obligations.
She explained that her relationship with Piqué led her to spend time in Spain, but this created complications that took her away from her work.
When she officially became a Spanish expatriate in 2015, the tax agency retroactively attempted to charge her for the previous decade.
Shakira argued that this was a trap, highlighting that she only spent 73 days in Spain in 2011, far short of the 183 days required to be considered a tax resident.
She emphasized that her global touring schedule made it impossible for her to be a tax resident in Spain simply because of her relationship with Piqué.
Shakira noted that she “always fulfilled” her tax obligations, and said that other investigations from agencies like the IRS found no issues.
She accused Spanish tax authorities of wanting “hunting trophies” to help rebuild their credibility, and said they’ve done so by “intimidating people, threatening them with jail, putting our children’s peace of mind at risk and putting us under pressure to break us.”
“They wanted to make the public believe that I did not pay my taxes, when the truth is that I paid much more than I should have,” she said, referring to the fines she paid voluntarily that she says were “unjustified.”
The Grammy-winning singer explained that she needed the right time to speak up and to write her own narrative.
“There may be those who wonder why I am bothering to make these statements now. The first reason is my children. We have lived in an era marked by a tone of arrogance from the State, but bullying is not the same as giving reasons,” she said. “Things are not solved by burning one public figure at the stake every year as if it were an Inquisition trial in order to recover lost prestige.”
She added, “No one can write my story for me. Just like with my songs, I sing to live peacefully again, to turn the page.”
Shakira faced severe legal consequences, including eight years in prison and a $26 million fine, if found guilty of tax fraud. However, in November 2023, she settled the case by paying a substantial fine and accepting a three-year suspended sentence.
Maintaining her innocence, Shakira stated that she chose to settle for the sake of her sons with ex-partner Gerard Piqué, prioritizing their well-being over continuing the legal fight.
In a subsequent development, Spanish prosecutors dropped additional tax fraud charges against Shakira in May, citing insufficient evidence.
These charges related to her 2018 income, with allegations that she used an offshore company in a tax haven to evade paying approximately $7.2 million in taxes.
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