Spanish prosecutors want 8-year prison term for Shakira in tax evasion case

Spanish prosecutors in Barcelona said Friday they are going to ask a court to sentence Colombian pop sensation Shakira to eight years and two months in prison if she is convicted for alleged tax fraud in her upcoming trial.  

The prosecutors’ preemptive ‘allocution’ for sentencing comes shortly after the pop singer declined a plea offer, exercising her right to a trial instead.

Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, is charged with neglecting to pay the Spanish government 14.5 million euros ($15 million) in tax money between 2012 and 2014, and also collect a fine of 24 million euros ($24 million).

The Spanish indictment charges Shakira with six crimes. Her London based representatives said Friday that the singer “has always cooperated and abided by the law, demonstrating impeccable conduct as an individual and a taxpayer.”

The publicists also said the Spanish Tax Administration Agency was violating the singer’s rights, and that she paid the 3 million euros she says she owes plus interest.

As part of their argument, the Spanish government has disputed the Grammy winner’s assertions she was outside Spain more than half of each year between 2012 and 2014.

If true, Shakira would most likely be released from an obligation to pay taxes in that country since she could claim she is not a full time resident.

The Colombian singer recently ended an 11-year long relationship with FC Barcelona star Gerard Piqué, with whom she has two children. The family used to live together in the Catalonian city.