BARCELONA: Colombian superstar Shakira will pay millions of euros in fines as part of a settlement announced on Monday with Spanish prosecutors to settle her tax fraud case and avoid trial.

Prosecutors had accused the superstar of defrauding the Spanish state of around 14.5 million euros ($15.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014, charges Shakira had denied, saying she only moved to Spain full time in 2015.

Under the deal, announced at the start of what would have been the trial of the 46-year-old singer, Shakira agreed to receive a three-year suspended sentence and to pay a fine of 7.33 million euros ($7.98 million) amounting to 50pc of the amount of unpaid tax.

The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer will also pay a separate fine of 432,000 euros to have her jail sentence suspended, bringing the total amount she will have to pay to around 7.8 million euros. Wearing a pink suit and sunglasses, Shakira waved and blew a kiss to a small crowd of bystanders before entering the Barcelona courthouse.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2023