Shakira triumphs in court with Spain ordered to repay $70M after tax fraud acquittal
Key takeaways
- Since 2018, the singer has been accused of defrauding the Spanish government in three cases, for the tax years 2011, 2012-2014 and 2018.
- Singer Shakira, who just split from soccer star Gerard Pique, said Spanish tax collectors ‘started to salivate’ over her money when they began dating.
- Piqué and the singer, who met in 2010 when she did “Waka Waka,” the official song of that year’s FIFA World Cup, separated in 2022.
Shakira, who performed in Rio de Janeiro earlier this month, is celebrating a major victory in her eight-year court battle with the government of Spain. (Silvia Izquierdo / Associated Press) By Christie D’Zurilla Assistant Editor, Fast Break Desk Follow May 19, 2026 11:45 AM PT 3 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Shakira’s long tax-fraud nightmare has ended with the government of Spain on the hook to refund nearly $70 million to the Colombian-born singer after prosecutors failed to prove she spent enough time in that country to owe it a chunk of her earnings.
Since 2018, the singer has been accused of defrauding the Spanish government in three cases, for the tax years 2011, 2012-2014 and 2018. Over the years, deals were offered, rejected and accepted; charges were dropped, other charges were filed; and an eight-year prison sentence was threatened.