Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Celebrity
Ali Condon
Shakira could potentially be facing a prison sentence of more than eight years over tax fraud allegations.
The 'Hips Don't Lie' singer has been accused of defrauding the Spanish tax office out of €14.5 million (£12.2 million) on income earned between the years 2012 and 2014.
Shakira, 45, has rejected a plea deal, as lawyers claimed that the songstress was 'absolutely certain of her innocence'.
Prosecutors allege that Shakira moved to Spain in 2011 when her relationship with Gerard Pique of FC Barcelona went public.
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However, they claim that the songstress maintained official tax residency in the Bahamas until 2015.
Now that she has rejected the plea deal offered, Shakira's case will go to trial instead. A date has not yet been set.
The plea deal - the details of which have not been made public - will remain on the table until the first date of the trial.
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If she's found guilty of tax evasion, Shakira could be fined or sent to prison.
Prosecutors are seeking to fine Shakira - full name Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll - €24 million (£20.2 million), as well as a prison sentence of more than eight years, if she is found guilty.
Shakira’s public relations team said the singer has always fulfilled her tax duties.
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They claim the artist has deposited the amount she is said to owe, including €3 million (£2.5m) in interest.
They've also argued that, until 2014, Shakira earned most of her money from international tours and did not live more than six months a year in Spain, meaning that she was not a resident under tax law.
On Wednesday (27 June), Shakira stated that the prosecutor's office used 'abusive methods' during their investigation, and that they are 'insisting on claiming money earned during my international tours and the show The Voice', when she was "not yet resident in Spain."
Prosecutors in Barcelona have alleged the Grammy winner spent more than half of each year between 2012 and 2014 in Spain and should have paid taxes in the country.
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In May of this year, a Barcelona court dismissed the 'Wherever, Whenever' singer's appeal to have the tax fraud charges dropped.
Shakira recently ended her 11-year relationship with FC Barcelona's Gerard Pique.
The couple, who share two sons Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7, announced their split in June. The family used to live in Barcelona.