Pop superstar Shakira could face JAIL after being accused of evading millions of pounds in tax in Spain
Authorities in Spain want to investigate the singer's finances from 2011-2014 and claim that Shakira should have paid tax on her international earnings
SINGER Shakira could face jail and a tax bill of “several dozen million pounds” after reportedly being accused of evasion.
The star, 40, has two kids with Barcelona ace Gerard Piqué and spends part of her time in Spain.
Reports there claim authorities want to probe her 2011-14 finances.
They said she should have paid tax on worldwide earnings.
State prosecution chiefs will now have to determine whether they agree with the Tax Agency - and if so launch formal legal proceedings.
Despite the potential threat of jail, similar high profile cases are typically settled without a custodial sentence.
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Sources close to Shakira, who became a full tax resident in Spain in 2015, told La Vanguardia she had always met her tax obligations and was ready to abide by the “economic consequences” of what they considered could be simple differences in “evaluation criteria” rather than a deliberate attempt to evade taxes.
Her lawyer Ezequiel Camerini told Spanish news website El Confidencial the singer lived in Barcelona - but quoted him as justifying her links to a tax haven on the basis that “as an international artist, she had lived in several places in the course of her professional life, acting in total accordance with the laws of all the jurisdictions she resides in.”
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is caught up in ongoing Spanish court investigations into alleged tax fraud, which he denies.