Shakira was asked to stand trial by a Spanish court in Barcelona on Tuesday. Prosecutors charged the Colombian singer with eight years in prison and a hefty fine of $24 million in August. A date for the trial has not been announced yet but is expected to come soon.

The PR team of the three-time Grammy winner has said that the singer will not deal with the authorities over this. They claim that the 47-year-old has nothing to worry about and she is clean. 

Also read: Shakira, Barcelona star Gerard Pique split after 11 years together

Why is Shakira being sued? 

The court claims that Shakira evaded taxes in Spain between 2012 and 2014 while living with former partner Gerard Pique and their two sons in Barcelona. Shakira’s PR team says that the singer has cleared all tax dues and even paid $3 million in interest for it.

According to the prosecutors, Shakira spent half of the period between 2012 to 2014 in Barcelona. The singer, whose official residence is in the Bahamas, allegedly evaded taxes worth $13.9 million during her stay in Spain.

Shakira and Gerard Pique were in a relationship for 11 years and the couple has two children. The two used to live together in Barcelona, Gerard Pique’s hometown. The couple separated in June 2022 after the singer caught Pique cheating on her.

Also read: Watch: Fans boo Gerard Pique, chant Shakira’s name in Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona

Tax fraud on six counts was labelled against Shakira by prosecutors according to an AP report from August. The latest update says that the court has agreed to go forward with the case. 

Shakira has claimed that the accusations against her are false. She said, “While Gerard and I were dating, I was on a world tour. I spent more than 240 days outside Spain, so there was no way I qualified as a resident.” 

“The Spanish tax authorities saw that I was dating a Spanish citizen and started to salivate. It’s clear they wanted to go after that money no matter what”, she added.

Spanish authorities had previously hounded both Messi and Ronaldo for evading taxes in Spain. However, their sentences were waived under a law in which sentences of up to two years can be slashed by the judge in special circumstances.