Shakira acquitted of tax fraud in Spain

Singer Shakira has been acquitted of tax fraud and should be reimbursed more than 55m euros (£48m), Spain's High Court has ruled, following years of financial legal battles.

The Colombian singer said the decision marked the end of "brutal public targeting" and "sleepless nights" that impacted her and her family.

The ruling relates to a dispute over the 2011 tax year, with the Madrid-based court concluding that Spanish tax authorities did not prove the singer was a resident of the country during that time.

Spain's treasury has now been ordered to hand back more than 55m euros in wrongly imposed fines, plus interest, according to legal documents.

Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, had always denied any wrongdoing and said her "name and public image" had been used "to send a threatening message" to other taxpayers in the country.

"After more than eight years of enduring brutal public targeting, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and sleepless nights that ultimately impacted my health and my family's well-being, the National High Court has finally set the record straight," she said in a statement sent to Sky News.

"There was never any fraud, and the administration itself could never prove otherwise, simply because it wasn't true. Yet, for nearly a decade, I was treated as guilty."

Shakira was previously in a relationship with Spanish footballer Gerard Pique, the father of her two children, and the case hinged on where she was living and how much she earned during certain periods.

For a person to be considered a tax resident in Spain, they must spend more than 183 days in the country in any year. Spanish authorities were only able to prove Shakira lived in Spain that year for a total of 163 days, the High Court said.

Representatives for the star said she was on a world tour in 2011, performing 120 concerts across 37 countries, and had no home in Spain at the time.

Authorities first announced investigations into the star in 2018, accusing her of failing to pay income tax while living in Barcelona during a different period, between 2012 and 2014.

In November 2023, Shakira reached a deal with prosecutors to avoid a trial over those charges.

Read more
Bulgaria beats Israel to win Eurovision song contest - as UK comes last
Casting for new James Bond under way

The new ruling can still ‌be appealed before the Supreme Court and does not affect tax years after 2011.

Shakira, who rose to global fame after her fifth album, Laundry Service, in 2001, is known for hits including Hips Don't Lie, Whenever, Wherever, Underneath Your Clothes, and Beyonce duet Beautiful Liar.

She and her children moved to Miami in 2023 following her split with Pique.

(c) Sky News 2026: Shakira acquitted of tax fraud in Spain