Pop star Shakira was acquitted of tax evasion charges.
On the 18th (local time), U.S. outlet Variety reported that after eight years of legal battles, a Spanish court ruled that the tax had been improperly collected and ordered the national treasury to refund Shakira about $65 million (about 98 billion won).
According to the report, the Spanish high court acquitted Shakira of the tax evasion charges and instructed the treasury to repay the amount with interest.
According to the ruling, the court said tax authorities failed to prove that Shakira stayed in Spain for 183 days in 2011 (the threshold for becoming a de facto resident obliged to pay personal income tax). The court ruled that Shakira stayed in Spain for only 163 days during that fiscal year.
Spanish tax authorities said they plan to appeal to the Supreme Court and will not make any payments until a final ruling is issued.
After the ruling, Shakira released a lengthy statement saying, "For more than eight years I have been brutally targeted by the public and endured a campaign organized to destroy my reputation, and after sleepless nights that ultimately affected my health and my family's well-being, the National High Court has finally set the record straight. There was never any fraud to begin with, and because it simply was not true, the government authorities could not prove otherwise."
She added, "But for almost 10 years, I was treated as if I were guilty. My name and public image were used to send a threatening message to other taxpayers, and every stage of the trial process was leaked, distorted and exaggerated," she lamented.
Shakira also said, "Today that false narrative has collapsed, and it did so through the full force of the court's ruling. My greatest hope is that this ruling will set a precedent for the treasury and help the thousands of ordinary citizens who are abused and trampled every day by a system that presumes guilt and forces them to prove their innocence at the risk of economic and mental ruin. I dedicate this victory to them."
Meanwhile, Shakira will perform in the halftime show of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final opening in June alongside Madonna and BTS.
[Photo] ©Gettyimages (Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited)
[OSEN]