Shakira risks prison if she does not reach an agreement with Barcelona tax authorities
Shakira could find herself in the dock for alleged tax fraud, after deciding not to reach a plea bargain with the prosecutor’s office.
The president of the Union of Treasury Technicians, Carlos Cruzado, spoke on a late night talk show about the singer’s case. She has been charged with six tax offences.
“She runs a very great risk being charged with six tax offences, with the penalties that this could entail,” Cruzado said.
Could Shakira go to prison?
Cruzado said he was surprised that the singer risked going to trial with a sentence that could even land her in jail.
“It is very likely that before the trial she will reach an agreement, because most of her tax offences are aggravated and with penalties that could reach up to six years in prison for each of the offences,” Cruzado said.
If not, “it is very likely that she could find herself with problems”.
Signs of a crime
The expert said that the authorities have consistent evidence and each of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which filed the complaint, and the judge who admitted it and the Barcelona Provincial Court “see signs of a crime and the need to prosecute it”.
However, he points out that the mitigating factor is that she paid the amount claimed by the tax authorities.
Shakira swears her innocence
On Wednesday it was reported that the Colombian singer rejected a deal offered by the Barcelona prosecutor’s office to avoid being tried for defrauding the tax authorities of 14.5 million euros and has decided to go on trial for tax fraud, as she is “fully confident” of her innocence, according to EFE.
Shakira considered the prosecutor’s proposal as disproportionate and contrary to her interests. She accuses him of being “intransigent” and of resorting to “undue means to exert pressure”.
And although the possibility of reaching a deal remains open until the day of the trial, everything points to the singer finally sitting in the dock.…
