Shakira Settles Tax Fraud Case By Paying Fine

In recent news, Shakira has made a payment totaling $7.6 million to the Spanish tax authorities.

The reason behind this payment is to settle the case for tax fraud that has been filed against her.

The Colombian pop star spoke directly to Jose Manuel del Amo, the presiding magistrate, during the proceedings.

She informed the judge that she had come to an agreement with the prosecutors from Spain at the beginning of her tax evasion trial in Barcelona.

As per sources, the Hips Don’t Lie hitmaker acknowledged the six counts of failure to pay tax to the Spanish government.

It was further revealed that the total sum owed by the star was around 14.5 million euros, which she incurred in taxes between 2012 and 2014.

After the agreement with the Spanish prosecutors, the 46-year-old was given a suspended sentence of three years and a fine of 7 million euros.

She gave a lengthy statement regarding the case, saying that she chose to settle it with her kids’ best interests in mind.

According to the musician, her sons, Milan and Sasha, who are 10 and 8 years old, respectively, do not want to witness their mother undergo stress and give up on her well-being in this battle.

The singer has always maintained her innocence and continued to do so, adding that she has always strived to do what was right and be a positive example for others.

However, she states that despite making all the efforts that she could, tax authorities in Spain took to targeting her and pursued a tax fraud case against her.

In her words, the government of Spain has pursued similar cases against high-profile individuals and athletes, draining their energy, peace, time, and funds for years. 

The 46-year-old revealed that she had been fully prepared to defend her innocence in front of the authorities and that her lawyers had been confident that she would win.

But, she said that she prioritized the needs of her children and decided to resolve the matter instead. 

According to Shakira, it was time for her to move past this legal battle and pay attention to her career and children. 

It is believed that authorities in Spain had wanted to ensure that the singer served eight years in prison.

They said that she had allegedly been living in Spain between the years of 2012 and 2014 but had listed the Bahamas as her official residence.

In the previous year, the musician had been offered to accept a settlement, but she had denied any wrongdoing and agreed to go to trial instead.

In other news, Jungkook is now the first member of BTS to have won a solo Billboard Music Award, beating out one of his own bandmates, Jimin.

The award for the Too Global K-Pop song was awarded to the 26-year-old for his song, Seven, which features Latto.

The event was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, where the South Korean superstar gave a pre-recorded speech. 

He went on to thank fans for supporting him, expressing that he could not believe that he had won the award.

The star also took to admitting that he could not have gotten where he is without the support of his fans and fellow musician, Latto.