Ten minutes in court and a deal was done. Shakira has accepted that she defrauded the Spanish treasury of 14.5 million euros, pretending that she did not reside in Spain from 2012 to 2014, and for this she agrees to pay a multi-million euro quantity to avoid going to jail. While the news media swarmed, this Monday a chamber of the Barcelona Audience held the trial of the Colombian singer, who finally reached an agreement with three prosecutions pursuing the case: the Spanish public prosecutor, the Spanish government and the Catalan government. The public prosecutor initially requested eight years and two months in prison for Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, in addition to a fine of 23.7 million euros, as well as without receiving tax incentives.
The singer's defence lawyers, Pau Molins and Miriam Company, along with the prosecution, submitted a written statement of conformity, and Shakira was only required to say sí to the presiding judge, José Manuel del Amo, to convey her agreement. The agreement covers a notable reduction in penalties and fines, granted due to the considerable mitigation action she had taken, having already returned the 14 million euros defrauded plus 3 million euros in interest.
Thus, the sentence is: six months in prison for each of the six crimes, that is, a total of three years in prison, which is replaced by a fine of 432,000 euros (calculated as 400 euros per day). In addition, she must pay a fine of 50% of the defrauded tax sums, that is to say, around 7.3 million euros. The trial only lasted about ten minutes.
Never in danger of prison
The hurdle to be jumped to reach the agreement was to pay a multi-million euro fine to avoid there being any risk of Shakira entering jail, although the court still has the final say. She is accused of six taxation offences for each of which the public prosecutor demands a sentence of less than 2 years' prison - and the Spanish Penal Code allows those convicted for a first offence to avoid entry into jail by individualizing the crimes.
"My children asked me to do it"
Shakira's defence lawyers sent a statement in which she affirmed that she had prioritized her career and stability, and that for that reason she chose to pay a fine. "I felt ready to face the trial and defend my innocence", says Shakira in the statement. Indeed, as she entering the trial and was thrown questions by journalists, she said confidently: "Here we go". And about the agreement, in the statement, Shakira maintains: "My children have asked me to do it."
Further tax issues pending
The Colombian singer has more fiscal matters with the Spanish treasury, and in the statement she says that she will "continue her fight against the Tax Agency" in another case that she has open in an administrative disputes trial for the fiscal year of 2011. She paid 60 million euros in tax for the total working capital of her 2011 tour. In this case, the defence maintains that "a kind of double taxation was imposed and disproportionate fines have been imposed on her for earnings that did not exist".
In addition, at the end of September, the Spanish economic crime prosecutors announced that they had lodged a second complaint against the singer: they claim 6.6 million euros for two offences over personal income tax and wealth tax for the year 2018. In this case, the prosecutor has already stated that he does not object to Shakira connecting by video conference for her testimony to the court in Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona, since she now lives in Miami.
In fact, a key aspect of the agreement reached this Monday is that it does not specify the usual condition in such deals, that the defendant must not commit a crime in the next 2 years. Given that the singer has this second criminal case open, dealing with different taxation years from the penalty she has now agreed. With all this, the singer will probably have to go to trial again for the second complaint.