Shakira has secured a major legal victory in Spain after the country’s High Court cleared her of tax fraud allegations tied to her 2011 finances and ordered authorities to return more than 60 million euros, roughly $70 million, including interest.
The ruling overturns a 55 million euro penalty imposed by Spain’s tax agency in 2021. Judges found that prosecutors failed to prove the global pop star lived in Spain long enough during 2011 to qualify as a tax resident under Spanish law.
Spanish regulations require a person to spend more than 183 days in the country during a calendar year to be considered a tax resident. The court determined that threshold was never conclusively established in Shakira’s case.
Authorities had argued that the singer’s relationship with former Gerard Piqué and her professional ties to Spain showed that her “centre of activities” was based in the country at the time.
The High Court rejected that argument.
In its decision, the court stated the penalties were unlawful because they were “based on the assumption that the appellant’s tax residence was in Spain for the 2011 fiscal year, a fact which has not been proven”.
Despite the setback, Spain’s tax agency plans to continue the legal battle. Officials said they would appeal the decision before the Supreme Court, meaning no reimbursement will be issued until a final ruling is reached.
Shakira’s legal team described the judgment as a turning point after years of legal pressure and public scrutiny.
Her lawyer, Jose Luis Prada, said the decision “comes after an eight-year ordeal that has taken an unacceptable toll, reflecting a lack of rigour in administrative practice”.
The singer also criticized the wider tax enforcement system in Spain. In a statement released through her defense team, Shakira said she hoped the ruling would help expose how ordinary citizens can be treated during financial investigations.
She said the case should set a precedent for “thousands of ordinary citizens who are abused and crushed every day by a system that presumes them guilty and forces them to prove their innocence while facing financial and emotional ruin”.
The ruling only applies to the 2011 fiscal year. It does not erase Shakira’s separate agreement with Spanish prosecutors over unpaid taxes between 2012 and 2014.
In November 2023, the singer reached a settlement in Barcelona to avoid a criminal trial linked to 14.5 million euros in unpaid income tax. Under that agreement, she accepted the charges and agreed to pay a fine exceeding 7.3 million euros.
