In a new development, Spanish prosecutors have charged Colombian pop star Shakira with failing to pay €6.7 million ($7.1 million) in taxes for the year 2018.
According to a statement from Barcelona prosecutors, Shakira allegedly used an offshore company based in a tax haven to evade these taxes. She has been notified of the charges in Miami, where she currently resides.
According to APnews Shakira is also due to stand trial in Barcelona on November 20 for a different case. In this separate matter, she is accused of failing to pay €14.5 million ($15.4 million) in taxes between 2012 and 2014.
Prosecutors claim that although her official residence was in the Bahamas, she spent more than half of that period in Spain and should have paid taxes there.
Spanish tax authorities have been increasingly vigilant in recent years, targeting not just Shakira but also soccer stars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for tax evasion.
Both athletes were found guilty but avoided prison time due to a provision that waives sentences under two years for first-time offenders.
Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, has been connected to Spain since she began dating retired soccer player Gerard Pique. The couple, who have two children, lived together in Barcelona until last year when they ended their 11-year relationship.
The public relations firm that has previously managed Shakira's affairs, Llorente y Cuenca, has not yet commented on the new charges. Last July, the firm stated that Shakira has "always acted in concordance with the law and on the advice of her financial advisers."
