Shakira Wins One Tax Fraud Case, But the Legal Picture Remains Complicated

Spain’s High Court acquitted Shakira of tax fraud on Monday, ruling that the government failed to prove she was a tax resident in 2011. The court ordered Spain’s tax agency to reimburse a fine of over $64 million that had been imposed in 2021. The reimbursement is on hold while the agency appeals to the Supreme Court.

The case centered on a simple metric: Spain considers you a tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in the country that year. Prosecutors argued Shakira was linked to Spain through her then-partner Gerard Piqué, the FC Barcelona footballer. The court rejected that argument, stating the case was “based on the assumption that the appellant’s tax residence was in Spain for the 2011 fiscal year, a fact which has not been proven.”

This ruling is separate from charges that followed years later. In 2022, Shakira was accused of defrauding the Spanish government of €14.5 million between 2012 and 2014. After initially denying any evasion, she reached an agreement in 2023. She accepted a three-year suspended sentence and paid fines totalling about €7.7 million. That guilty finding now sits on her record alongside Monday’s acquittal.

The mixed outcome leaves her legal standing uneven. While she won back the larger sum, the existing conviction could theoretically carry weight in any future disputes. Shakira is scheduled to perform at the World Cup Halftime Show this July.