Shakira Could Face Trial For Alleged Tax Evasion Of S$23.3 Million In Spain

Shakira is to face trial for tax evasion.

The 44-year-old singer — who has sons Milan, eight, and Sasha, six, with longtime partner, Spanish football player Gerard Pique — has been under investigation for three years and on Thursday (July 29), Judge Marco Juberias declared he had found “sufficient evidence of criminality" and recommended the case moves to the next step.

Shakira has been charged with failing to pay €14.5 million (S$23.32 mil) in taxes to Spain between 2012 and 2014, but the 'Hips Don't Lie' singer's publicist has insisted she has paid what was owed after being given the bill, RadarOnline.com reports.

The Colombian singer — who declared Spain as her official country of residence in 2015 — claimed she was based in the Bahamas at the time, but prosecutors have argued she was living in the European country with her husband and she was only going overseas for professional reasons.

Under Spanish law, people who spend more than six months a year in the country are required to pay their taxes in Spain.

The authorities calculated the unpaid tax bill from all of her global income, rather than what she just earned in Spain.

Shakira faces a possible fine and even a prison sentence, though a judge is able to waive jail time for first offenders if they are sentenced to less than two years behind bars.

Judge Juberias' decision can also be appealed. — BANG SHOWBIZ

Photo: TPG News/Click Photos