Shakira Acquitted of Tax Fraud

Latin singer Shakira in a NYC lounge in 1999.

Shakira just got a big win in court!

The High Court in Spain just ruled on her appeal of a 2021 conviction of tax fraud. She had been fined $64 million U.S. dollars.

Now, the Court has acquitted her of that charge – AND ruled that Spain’s Treasury must reimburse the “Whenever, Wherever” singer with over $70 million, which includes 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 court ruling said that tax authorities had failed to prove that Shakira spent more than 183 days in Spain in 2011. That’s the legal threshold requiring residents to pay personal income tax in the country.

“On the contrary, the court found that Shakira spent 163 days in Spain and that the tax authorities had therefore failed to prove that the singer had the centre of her economic interests in Spain,” according to the ruling.

Shakira had previously settled another tax fraud case over the 2012 to 2014 tax years in November 2023, agreeing to pay a fine of over $8 million.

Shakira spent time in Spain because she had been in a long-term relationship with a Spanish football player, Gerard Piqué, and they share two sons.