Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, Colombian singer popularly known as Shakira, will be facing a new tax probe in Spain, months after leaving the country.
The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer was earlier charged with tax evasion in 2022. The 46-year-old could be imprisoned in Spain if found guilty of failing to pay 14.5 million euros in taxes between 2012 and 2014.
She is due to face trial later in the year and could serve prison time if found guilty. She has denied the allegations stating in an interview with ELLE that she was not a resident of Spain during the said period.
With a few months to her trial which will commence in November, another fresh probe has been opened against the superstar.
On Thursday, a court seated in the northeastern Spanish town of Esplugues de Llobregat stated that it had granted prosecutors the go-ahead to investigate two possible cases of tax fraud by Shakira from 2018.
Responding to the reports, the singer’s legal team said she has not received any formal notification of the new probe.
A statement shared with Reuters read in part, “The singer’s legal team will not make any comment until the notification reaches her through the formal and legally established channels. Shakira is now based in Miami and she will have to be notified personally at her new address,
“As she has already stated on numerous occasions, Shakira asserts that she has always acted by the law and under the advice of the best tax experts. She is now focused on her artistic life in Miami and is calm and confident that her tax affairs will be resolved favourably.”
The singer moved from Barcelona to Miami with her children in April 2023, after a messy break-up with ex-boyfriend and FC Barcelona player, Gerard Pique.
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