Colombian pop star Shakira has entered a deal with Spanish prosecutors after maintaining her innocence for almost five years in order to avoid the risk of going to prison.
The deal was struck during the opening day of her tax fraud trial in Barcelona on Monday (November 20).
The Associated Press reported that the singer told the presiding magistrate, José Manuel del Amo, that she was accepting the settlement she reached with prosecutors, where she confirmed her acknowledgment of six counts of failing to pay the Spanish government EUR 14.5 million (about $15.8 million) in taxes between 2012 and 2014.
In exchange, Shakira was to receive a suspended three-year sentence and EUR 7 million ($7.6 million).
Because of the deal, the trial that was supposed to hear from over 100 witnesses over a number of weeks was instead called off after a mere eight minutes.
"This has been a difficult decision that took time to reach," defense lawyer Miriam Company told reporters. "Her legal team had prepared the trial and were convinced we could demonstrate her innocence, but the circumstances changed and (Shakira) opted to accept the deal."
Shakira Prefers Family and Peace of Mind over Fighting Charges
Prosecutors said last July that they would seek a prison sentence of eight years and two months and EUR 24 million ($26 million) worth of fines for Shakira.
The case alleged that the 46-year-old spent over half of the two-year period she was in Spain, which meant she should have paid taxes on her worldwide income in the country even though her official residence was still in the Bahamas, which has a much lower tax rate than in Spain.
In a statement provided by her publicist firm, Shakira said that, while she wanted to fight the charges, she would rather prefer her family, career, and peace of mind first.
"I have made the decision to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight," she said.
"I need to move past the stress and emotional toll of the last several years and focus on the things I love, my kids, and all the opportunities to come in my career."
Meanwhile, Shakira won three awards at the 2023 Latin Grammys last week in Seville. According to People, the singer ended up wearing four different dresses for the award show.
Other big winners included Karol G and Natalia Lafourcade.
