The trial of Shakira for allegedly defrauding the Treasury of 14.5 million euros, in which the artist faces a request for a sentence of eight years and two months in prison, will begin on Monday at the Barcelona Court. These days, the one from Barranquilla is in Seville on the occasion of the Latin Grammys, which are celebrated with great expectation this Friday, November 17. She is nominated in seven different categories.
The singer must appear in court at least on the first day of the trial and when it is her turn to testify. (you may choose to do so or decline), which will be at the beginning of the trial after the preliminary questions or – if your defense requests it and the court accepts it – once all the evidence has been presented.
It is common for the defense to ask to reserve the accused’s statement for the end of the trial with the intention that when they intervene they can respond to all the evidence that has been presented against them. From the outset, The trial script foresees that the singer’s turn will be on the first day, but her defense can request that it be delayed at the beginning of the trial..
The court expects that the trial will last for 12 sessions spaced from Monday, November 20 to Thursday, December 14and during these weeks, 117 witnesses and eight experts are called to testify who will answer the questions of the defense and the accusations of the Prosecutor’s Office, the State Attorney’s Office and that of the Generalitat.
Hairdressers and gynecologists
Among the witnesses cited are workers who attended to Shakira in Barcelona in beauty centers, hair salons, bars, hotels and restaurants, and other employees such as his personal driver, two gynecologists, his Zumba and fitness teachers and his stylist.
Shakira’s neighbors in her homes in Catalonia, doormen and maintenance workers will also appear at the trial.; In addition, employees of Live Nation España and, at the request of the artist’s defense, the CEO of Sony Music in Latin America, Afo Verdey company president Amanda Ghost.
At Shakira’s suggestion, her brother and manager, her choreographer, her therapist, her hairdresser, her stylist, her managers, her producer and her ex-partner will also testify. Antonio de la Rua Pertinéwith whom she had a relationship before marrying the footballer Gerard Piqué.
Six crimes against the Treasury
Shakira is accused of allegedly committing six crimes against the Treasury between 2012 and 2014, and in addition to the prison sentence, the Prosecutor’s Office demands that the artist be fined 23.8 million euros. The taxes that she allegedly defrauded are the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) –12,371,197 euros– and the Wealth Tax (IP) –2,191,771–, adding between the two of them 14,562 .968 euros.
The prosecutor believes that, to avoid paying taxes in Spain, the artist used a network of 15 companies domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Malta, Panama and Luxembourg, which she named as owners of her income and assets in instead of putting them in his name, supposedly “to hide” his income from the State Tax Agency and the Agència Tributària de Catalunya.
He already returned the money
Before the criminal process, Shakira already returned 17.2 million euros that the Treasury claimed for taxes that she did not pay at the time, something that the Prosecutor’s Office’s accusation takes into account when applying a mitigating circumstance to repair the damage.
The legal team has used this return of money to reiterate that “for many years there has been no outstanding debt with the Treasury.” His defense considers that this case represents “a total violation of his rights, since he has always demonstrated impeccable conduct, as a person and taxpayer.”
Second cause and negotiations
The prosecution and defense negotiated a possible agreement that would avoid the trial but the conversations did not prosper, as the singer’s defense confirmed this summer; However, they have time to agree until the trial.
The artist faces this trial four months after learning of her second case for alleged fraud against the Treasury, which is being investigated in the courts of Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona) and in which the Prosecutor’s Office claims a debt of 6,686,502 euros for the statement. of 2018 of Personal Income Tax and Wealth Tax.