The separation of the Colombian singer Shakira and the Spanish player Gerard Piqué is entering a new round. In addition to fighting over custody of their two children, Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7, the couple went to court to decide who owns the plane they bought for family travel. According to the newspaper Prensa Libre, the plane is worth 20 million euros. The Learjet 60XR offers accommodation for 10 passengers, a bedroom with two beds, a dining room and a TV room.
After 12 years together, the couple confirmed their split in June: “We are sorry to announce that we are separating. For the sake of our children, who are our priority, we ask that you respect our privacy,” Shakira said next Twitter occasion.
Spanish prosecutors formally charged Shakira with tax evasion in July and want her sentenced to eight years and two months in prison, in addition to paying a €23 million fine. According to the organ, Shakira caused the Spanish state 14.5 million euros in damage for not paying taxes between 2012 and 2014.
Airplane disputed by Shakira and Piquet Photo: Reproduction
The singer has pleaded not guilty, turning down a plea deal with prosecutors on Wednesday and saying she is ready to go to court.
Now the Barcelona court must decide whether to finally open oral proceedings against the 45yearold artist, who was able to reach an agreement with the public prosecutor until the last moment.
For now, however, the disagreement between the parties is almost total. In their letter, prosecutors accused Shakira of using a “corporate framework” put in place years earlier to avoid paying taxes in Spain in 2012, 2013 and 2014, despite being more than 183 days in the country years in the country as required by law, that is, the artist would have simulated not living in the country to avoid paying taxes. For this reason, he is demanding more than eight years in prison and the payment of a fine of almost 24 million euros (R$127 million).
The letter comes two days after the singer’s lawyers announced they had rejected a settlement with prosecutors and intend to go to court.
“With full conviction of her innocence (…) Shakira does not accept an agreement” with the prosecutor and “decides to continue the trial,” her legal representatives said in a statement in Barcelona, where the singer lives. , who was confident that “justice will prove her right”.
Shakira denounced “a total violation of her rights” and said in the statement that “prosecutors have insisted on recovering the money earned [suas] international tours and “The Voice”, the American television show on which she served as a judge, at a time when she “didn’t yet live in Spain”.
The interpreter of “Waka Waka” or “Hips don’t lie” recalled that she had claimed 17.2 million euros and therefore considered that “there were no outstanding debts to the Treasury”.
However, according to the complaint, Shakira had lived in Spain since at least fiscal 2012, shortly after her relationship with FC Barcelona’s Gerard Piqué became public, but she retained her official residence in the Bahamas, which is considered a tax haven, until 2015.
The couple, who have two children, announced their split last June.
In May, a Barcelona court dismissed an appeal by Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, the artist’s full name, for the investigation to be closed.
Shakira appeared in what became known as the Pandora Papers, an extensive investigation that found hundreds of celebrities turned to tax havens, mainly to avoid paying taxes.