Colombian singer Shakira has accused the Treasury of “using her” to set an example, to the point of “violating” her right to privacy in the investigation of her alleged tax fraud, and claims she has paid more than €104 million since 2011 . in taxes around the world.

This is stated in a defense note that the Colombian singer’s lawyers submitted to the Court of Investigation No. 2 Esplugues de Llobregat (Barcelona), which sent her to trial for six crimes against the State Treasury on charges of embezzlement of 14.5 million euros in the period from 2012 to 2012. 2014 pretending not to live in Spain.

In a letter that EFE had access to, the lawyers for Isabelle Mebarak, Shakira, who is now being defended by the Molins law firm in Barcelona, ​​accuse the Treasury of organizing a “media campaign” for the sole purpose of “coercing” the singer that “despite her innocence, he pleads guilty and accepts the charges.”

“Collective desire” of the Ministry of Finance

In defense, the Tax Agency acted with a “desire to collect” and with the “unacceptable purpose” of “using” a Colombian singer for “illustrative purposes for the rest of the Spanish taxpayers”, and it took “extraordinary actions” to do so. production” during the investigation of the case.

In particular, lawyers blame the Treasury for resorting to “measures that violate the right to privacy, such as requests to medical centers for sensitive information, such as prescriptions and test results” to demonstrate that since 2012 By 2014, the artist lived in Spain for more than 183 days a year and was therefore liable to pay taxes in that country.

The defense of the Colombian star, however, claims to have “credible evidence” that “without the slightest hint of doubt” the translator did not spend most of the year in Spain: according to certificates from the Bahamian authorities, they specify that he has been a tax resident of this country since 2004 until the end of 2014, when he settled in Barcelona as a result of his relationship with footballer Gerard Pique.

For this reason, they argue that it is “completely false” that he feigned his residence in the Bahamas and emphasize that since he began an affective relationship with Piqué in 2011, his visits to Spain to meet the footballer “during those few days from what his busy professional schedule would allow” were always “promoted” even on his own social media.

When in 2014 he decided to settle in Barcelona with Gerard Piqué, he “directly” reported this for the relevant purposes to the tax agency, which accepted him “without discussion, thus assuming that up to this point he had not resided in our country” . and has been paying taxes in Spain “scrupulously” ever since, despite not being a “centre of economic interests,” they add.

In fact, the “sign of media pressure” that Shakira believes the Ministry of Finance is exerting against her is that she is also demanding, through administrative channels, to pay taxes corresponding to 2011, when she spent the most in Spain that year. 60 days: her world tour included performances in cities such as Abu Dhabi, Bologna, Budapest, Bucharest, Belgrade, Croatia, Munich, Beirut, Minsk, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Rabat, Leon, Tijuana, Hermosillo, Genoa or Puerto – Rico.

“Charity” work and “itinerant” lifestyle

The defense memo recalled that Shakira is a “renowned, prestigious artist with a long international career” who, in addition to her professional commitments, “carries out extensive philanthropic work” through the Pies Descalzos Foundation and Latin America in Solidarity Action (ALAS). , which earned him a 2011 appointment as a member of former US President Barack Obama’s Presidential Advisory Committee on Excellence in Education for Hispanics in 2011.

Lawyers say the singer’s international commitments, which include touring worldwide and appearing on television programs, forced her to “permanently move” and lead a “wandering lifestyle” that she didn’t give up until 2014.

The artist, the letter adds, “has scrupulously carried out all her tax obligations in the numerous territories with which she had professional connections,” without a single sanction, and has always instructed her advisers to “pay all taxes wherever necessary,” because “ there is no need to create difficulties with the tax authorities.”

Over 104 million taxes paid

“Without going into details, in the United States, he paid federal and state taxes corresponding to the income received from his participation in the Voice program between 2012 and 2014,” the lawyers add.

And since 2011, the letter states, “she has paid taxes worldwide for a global amount exceeding 104 million euros (including fees, interest, surcharges and penalties), of which 90 million were paid to the Spanish public treasury.”

“The allegations’ punitive lawsuit against Ms Mebarak is a response to an excessive desire to raise money,” stresses the defense, which criticizes that during the process, several Treasury officials “came to openly brag in the media and even on television programs about Shakira’s guilt.”

However, the letter warns that “this defense has full faith in justice and in the ability to demonstrate in the act of oral proceedings the absolute innocence of Doña Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll.”

Barcelona prosecutors, for their part, are seeking eight years and two months in prison for the singer, in addition to the €23.8m fine in the indictment it presented to the judge after the singer rejected his latest offer to reach an agreement that would have mitigated sentences and would have avoided litigation.