The day had to come and it came. Today, February 8, Shakira testified by videoconference regarding the second accusation of tax fraud opened in Spain against her: the Investigative Court No. 2 of Esplugues de Llobregat admitted for processing last July a complaint filed by the prosecutor's office for two alleged crimes against the Public Treasury regarding property taxes and personal income tax in 2018. “It is one more step in the pressure” of the AEAT, the artist has declared in her deposition, according to El País.
Shakira has fewer arguments for her defense than last November, when she had to answer for six crimes related to the same taxes between the years 2012 to 2014. Even though the initial option was to try to prove that at that time her tax residence was not located in our country, agreed to sign an agreement with the prosecution, pleading guilty and thus avoiding any risk of a custodial sentence. However, there is no doubt that in 2018, with two children in school, she was a neighbor of Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona).
This leak coincides with the line of argument outlined by his defense, which represents the renowned criminal law firm of Pau Molins, when on July 20 we learned of this second investigation for alleged tax fraud: “Once again, as has been happening for all these years , it is through the media that the singer found out about the filing of this complaint, evidencing the media and reputational pressure to which she is subjected. As she has already moved on numerous occasions, Shakira defends having always acted in accordance with the law and under the advice of the best tax experts. “She is now focused on her artistic life in Miami and is calm and confident in the favorable resolution of her tax affairs.”
In any case, the artist has already deposited the six million that are claimed from her and her defense has requested that the proceedings be archived.
