Shakira slams Spanish authorities after tax fraud settlement

In an interview, Shakira reflected on the high-profile tax fraud case. The star agreed to a settlement but now claims she did so only for the sake of her sons. She does not hold back on harsh words for the Spanish authorities.

In November last year, Shakira agreed to a settlement in the high-profile tax fraud case. As reported by the media, the star was accused of evading €14.5 million (£12.6 million) in income tax in Spain, claiming that she did not live in her former partner's homeland between 2012 and 2014. This allowed her to avoid a prison sentence that could have lasted up to eight years.

From the beginning, Shakira has maintained that she considers herself innocent and agreed to the settlement for the sake of her sons. Now, the artist has revisited the case in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, where she expressed rather harsh words about the local authorities. She does not hide that she resents how she was treated.

The most frustrating thing was seeing that a state institution seemed more interested in publicly burning me at the stake than in listening to my reasons, she stated. I want to leave my children the legacy of a woman who explained her reasons calmly and in her own time, when she considered it necessary, not when she was forced to. I need them to know that I made the decisions I made to protect them, to be by their side and to get on with my life. Not out of cowardice or guilt.

At the same time, the star consistently claims that she is innocent. According to her, the Spanish tax authorities resort to intimidation, threats of jail, disturbing the peace of her children, and exerting pressure.

They wanted to make the public believe that I did not pay my taxes, when the truth is that I paid much more than I should have, she explains. What seemed like a polite way of formalizing my situation turned out to be a trap. A person who spends their time touring the world cannot have the intention of being a tax resident in a place just because the person they are in a relationship with at the time lives there.

Shakira also had a few words for those wondering why she is speaking out about this now. She claims it is mainly for her children but also to make people aware that "things are not solved by burning one public figure at the stake every year as if it were an Inquisition trial in order to recover lost prestige."

No one can write my story for me. Just like with my songs, I sing to live peacefully again, to turn the page, she concluded.