Pop star Shakira wins $90 million payout in court victory over Spanish government

Madrid: A Spanish court has acquitted Shakira in a tax fraud case, ordering the government to return more than €55 million ($89.4 million) in wrongly imposed fines, a court document seen by The Associated Press on Monday (Madrid time) said.

The decision follows years of tax troubles in Spain for the Colombian superstar.

The latest acquittal relates to the 2011 tax year in which Spanish authorities failed to prove that the singer was a resident of Spain, the Madrid-based court said in its decision. A person must spend more than 183 days in Spain to be considered a tax resident.

Spanish authorities were only able to prove that Shakira lived in Spain that year for a total of 163 days, the court said, ordering the Treasury to reimburse the singer the tax paid plus interest.

Spain’s tax agency argued that at the time Shakira was tied to Spain through a relationship with now-retired soccer player Gerard Piqué and that she based her main economic activities in the country.

But the High Court ruled that the relationship could not be legally equated to a marital one, nor was it proven that “the main centre or base” of Shakira’s activities or economic interests in 2011 were directly or indirectly located in Spain.

“There was never any fraud, and the Tax Agency itself was never able to prove otherwise, simply because it wasn’t true,” Shakira, who had filed an appeal, said in a statement provided by her lawyers.

Spain’s Treasury is to reimburse the singer €60 million ($97.5 million), including interest, Shakira’s lawyer said.

“This resolution comes after an eight-year ordeal that has taken an unacceptable toll, reflecting a lack of rigour in administrative practices,” her attorney, José Luís Prada, said in a statement.

In 2023, in a separate tax fraud case, Shakira reached a deal with Spanish prosecutors to avoid a trial over charges that she did not pay Spanish income tax worth €14.5 million (about $23 million) between 2012 and 2014.

The singer accepted the charges and was forced to pay €7.3 million (about $11 million) in addition to the previously unpaid taxes and interest.

The Hips Don’t Lie singer was named in the 2017 “Paradise Papers” leaks that detailed the offshore tax arrangements of numerous high-profile individuals, including pop icons Madonna and U2’s Bono.

Spain’s tax authorities have, over the past decade or so, cracked down on soccer stars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for not paying their full due in taxes.

Those players were found guilty of tax evasion but avoided prison time thanks to a provision that allows a judge to waive sentences under two years in length for first-time offenders.

AP

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