Shakira to pay €7.3m to settle Spain fraud case

Colombian superstar, Shakira will pay a fine of over €7.3 million ($7.98 million) as part of a deal with Spanish prosecutors to avoid trial for tax fraud, a Barcelona court said Monday.

Prosecutors had accused the superstar of defrauding the Spanish state of around €14.5 million ($15.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014, charges Shakira had denied, saying she only moved to Spain full-time in 2015.

Under the deal, announced at the start of what would have been the trial of the 46-year-old singer, Shakira agreed to receive a three-year suspended sentence and to pay a fine of €7.33 million ($7.98 million) amounting to 50 percent of the amount of unpaid tax.

The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer will also pay a separate fine of €432,000 to have her jail sentence suspended, bringing the total amount she will have to pay to around €7.8 million.

The singer, who had previously rejected a deal offered by prosecutors, said in a statement she had settled “with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight.”

She added, “I need to move past the stress and emotional toll of the last several years and focus on the things I love – my kids and all the opportunities to come in my career, including my upcoming world tour and my new album.

“I admire tremendously those who have fought these injustices to the end, but for me, today, winning is getting my time back for my kids and my career.”