Shakira faces 8 years in jail & huge fine of £19m after being accused of evading millions of pounds in tax in Spain

POP star Shakira faces up to eight years in jail if she's found guilty of an alleged massive £12m tax fraud.

The Colombian-born 'Hips Don't Lie' singer, 45, is charged with defrauding the Spanish treasury out of millions over a three-year period between 2012 and 2014.

Spanish prosecutors are pushing for the highest-possible sentence over six separate counts of tax fraud totalling 14.5 million euros (£12.2m).

As well as an eight-year prison sentence, state prosecutors want the mum-of-two to be slapped with a 23 million euro fine (£19.2m).

Shakira, who came to fame with her 2001 hit 'Wherever, Whenever', is accused of pretending to live abroad to avoid paying tax despite moving to Barcelona in 2011 to be with her ex, Spanish defender Gerard Pique.

She has already paid out an estimated three million euros (£2.5m) to the Spanish taxman.

Shakira - full name Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll - split with Barcelona star Pique earlier this year.

Recently, a glum-faced Pique was filmed apparently listening to Shakira in his car just a month after the couple split following allegations that he had cheated.

The couple first met in 2010 during the filming of her music video for the World Cup song Waka Waka.

They started dating a year later shortly after Pique's Spain side won the World Cup in South Africa.

The former couple are said to have spent the last few weeks negotiating the future of their two children because Shakira wants to move to Miami with them.

Shakira was previously a tax resident in the Bahamas and only registered as a full tax resident in Spain in 2015.

All official residents in Spain must pay Spanish taxes on any income received overseas.

In addition, people who spend more than 183 days in a given calendar year in Spain are considered Spanish residents for tax purposes.

Tax inspectors spent more than a year checking up on Shakira, even visiting her favourite hairdressers in Barcelona and checking her social media to try to show she spent most of the three years in dispute in Spain.

They concluded she had spent 242 days in Spain in 2012, 212 days in 2013 and 243 days in the country in 2014.

The singer, who has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, denies any wrongdoing.

Shakira is confident that her innocence will be proven by the end of the judicial process

Representative for Shakira

A representative for Shakira told The Sun Online: "Shakira has always cooperated and abided by the law, demonstrating impeccable conduct as an individual and a taxpayer, and faithfully following the counsel of PriceWaterhouse Coopers, a prestigious and globally recognized tax firm.

"Unfortunately, the Spanish Tax Office, which loses one out of every two lawsuits with its taxpayers, continues to violate her rights and pursue yet another baseless case.

"Shakira is confident that her innocence will be proven by the end of the judicial process."

Last year, Shakira's net worth was valued to be around $350 million (£288m).

Her PR firm Llorente y Cuenca said in a statement earlier this week: "She believes in her innocence and has opted to leave the issue in the hands of the law."

Her date in court hasn't yet been agreed upon.