In a fresh filing, the Barcelona Prosecutor’s Office accuses the pop star Shakira of owing 6.1 million euros to the Spanish Tax Agency for the 2018 fiscal year, with the reference to the debt rising to 6.6 million euros when late payment interest is added. The case is being processed in a court in Esplugues de Llobregat and is linked to a broader tax evasion investigation covering earlier years, carrying a potential eight-year prison term. Prosecutors claim a deliberate use of a corporate network, including a Luxembourg-based company, to reduce Spain’s tax take. Other entities connected to the schemes allegedly operated in Spain, the Netherlands, the British Virgin Islands, Malta, Panama, and Liechtenstein.
The complaint notes that in 2018 Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll resided in Esplugues de Llobregat with her former partner, soccer star Gerard Piqué, and their two children. As a resident of Spain, she was expected to file Personal Income Tax and Wealth Tax returns for her worldwide income, regardless of where the work or residence occurred. The document outlines how her situation and status may have influenced her tax obligations.
The prosecution contends that the singer acted with the intention of evading taxes on all income and consciously withheld information from the tax authorities, while deducting expenses improperly. This, according to the filing, reduced the amount owed to the state and to Catalonia through advantages in the tax system and through omitted income.
Specifically, the complaint asserts that she failed to report 12.5 million dollars received as an advance in 2011 for the tour El Dorado, which accrued in 2018, along with an additional 2.5 million euros held by two brokerage firms. It is also alleged that she repeatedly deducted 3 million euros for personal expenses deemed excessive, including 500,000 euros in miscellaneous personal spending and the depreciation of her own music rights.
Countries with low taxation
The prosecutor’s office contends that Shakira used a network of companies to avoid paying personal income tax for 2018, drawing income from entities located in jurisdictions characterized by low taxation and high financial transparency, including Luxembourg. The filing describes how AC, a company controlled by a Luxembourg-based entity, generated revenue from transferring the singer’s music rights and that parts of her professional activity expenses, including a U.S. tour, were kept within a structure that the prosecution describes as manipulated for tax benefits.
To accomplish this, the artist allegedly signed several agreements aimed at minimizing tax liability. One tax agreement with Luxembourg authorities reportedly set favorable conditions, and a reported tax rate on ordinary income was cited at 1.39%. The prosecution asserts that this arrangement was used in a way that did not reflect genuine business activity, effectively turning the involved entities into instruments rather than operating ventures.
Another Spanish company linked to Shakira, GGT, is described as part of the framework used to account for income and expenses related to concerts outside the United States during the El Dorado tour. This company allegedly signed an official contract with the Luxembourg-based AC to manage the services associated with the tour. The filing also mentions other entities in the Netherlands, the British Virgin Islands, Malta, Panama, and Liechtenstein. Prosecutors claim that these entities lacked the capacity for real economic activity and that most expenses amounted to administrative costs designed to move capital rather than create value, with the lawyer and the British Virgin Islands, Malta, Panama, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein acting as the residence and control points for the corporate network.
The accusation emphasizes that these entities functioned as instrumental vehicles for channeling capital tied to Shakira’s professional activity, rather than as independent businesses contributing to revenue through genuine operations.