Spain prosecutors seek to close Shakira tax fraud case

Spanish prosecutors on Wednesday moved to dismiss a tax fraud case against Shakira just months after opening proceedings against the Colombian superstar over unpaid taxes of 6.6 million euros.

"The Barcelona provincial prosecutor's office for economic crimes has requested that the proceedings against Shakira be closed ... for the 2018 tax year," the prosecutors office said in a statement, pointing to "insufficient evidence".

Prosecutors opened the case in July, accusing the so-called Queen of Latin Pop of using a network of companies, some of them based in tax havens, to cheat the tax office out of 6.6 million euros in 2018, including interest and adjustments.

A month later, the singer paid 6.6 million euros to settle the debt, her agent told AFP.

In November, the singer reached a last-minute settlement with prosecutors to avoid trial in another tax fraud case involving income she earned between 2012 and 2014.

Prosecutors had accused her of defrauding the Spanish state of 14.5 million euros in charges she denied, saying she only moved to Spain full-time in 2015.

As part of the deal, she agreed to pay a fine of 7.3 million euros, equal to 50 percent of the amount of unpaid tax, along with a 432,000 euro fine, raising the total to nearly 7.8 million.

Now 47, the singer lives in Miami where she moved in April 2023 with her two sons after a bitter split from former Barcelona football star Gerard Pique.