Spain’s High Court on Monday acquitted Colombian pop superstar Shakira of tax fraud and overturned a roughly $64 million fine imposed on the singer, ordering its full reimbursement — plus interest.
The acquittal ends an eight years-long legal battle between Shakira and the Spanish Tax Administration Agency (AEAT), who accused the singer of committing tax fraud in 2011 and imposed the multi-million dollar fine in 2021. Shakira denied having committed any wrongdoing and brought the matter to courts.
In her appeal, Shakira successfully proved to Spain’s Audiencia Nacional High Court that she did not spend more than 183 days in Spain during 2011 — the minimum amount of time required for a person to be considered as a tax resident in Spain. As such, the High Court determined that the $64 million fine was unlawful as she was not liable to pay taxes in 2011.
“After eight years of enduring brutal public scrutiny, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and countless sleepless nights that ultimately took a toll on my health and my family’s well-being, the National Court has finally set the record straight,” Shakira declared through a statement shared by her lawyers.
“There was never any fraud, and the Tax Agency itself was never able to prove otherwise, simply because it wasn’t true,” she added.
The singer stressed that she hopes that her acquittal sets a precedence and helps the thousands of ordinary citizens “who are abused and crushed every day by a system that presumes their guilt and forces them to prove their innocence while facing financial and emotional ruin.”
“This victory is dedicated to them,” she said.
The Spanish newspaper ABC recounted that, in 2011, Shakira conducted an international tour that saw her perform 120 concerts across 37 different countries. AEAT had claimed that Shakira was liable to pay taxes in Spain because of her relationship with her now ex-boyfriend, Spanish soccer star Gerard Piqué.
Although they never married, Shakira and Piqué share two children together. The pair ended their relationship after eleven years in 2022 after amid cheating allegations surrounding Piqué. The Spanish High Court ruled that their relationship was not legally equal to a marital one, nor was there any indication hat Shakira’s activities or economic interests were located in Spain during 2011.
Shakira left Spain with her children in 2023 and moved to Miami, Florida.
Her breakup with Piqué, and the tax legal battle with Spain’s revenue service, where featured by Shakira in the lyrics of a 2023 song, which read, “You left me with your mom as a neighbor, the press at my door, and a debt with the Treasury.”
The Colombian artist had been convicted of tax fraud in 2023 on a separate 2012-2014 tax evasion case that saw her pay an over $8 million fine.
One of Shakira’s lawyers, José Luis Pardo, reportedly claimed that, had Monday’s ruling come years earlier, it would have prevented the outcome of the 2023 case and the impacts of its criminal proceedings.
“It’s hard to speculate, and it’s true that each fiscal year is a separate entity. But it would have given us a lot of leverage, because the underlying argument regarding sporadic absences and proof of tax residency is the same,” Pardo told reporters.
Shakira is now part of a small list of artists, journalists, and athletes that have successfully won legal proceedings against Spain’s revenue service after being imposed hefty fines. The list also includes her ex, Gerard Piqué, who successfully overturned a roughly $2.4 million fine for infringements allegedly committed between 2008 and 2010. Other international figures, such as soccer superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have had to reach multi-million dollar settlements with Spanish tax authorities in the past over alleged tax evasion infringements.