Spanish judge seeks to bring Shakira to court for tax evasion
A court document published on Thursday showed that a Spanish judge believes there is "sufficient evidence" to bring the famous Colombian singer Shakira to court for tax evasion.
The judge ended a pre-trial investigation by prosecutors into allegations that Shakira did not pay up to 14.5 million euros ($17.2 million) in taxes on income she earned between 2012 and 2014.
"The documents ... attached to the lawsuit constitute sufficient evidence of violations to allow the continuation of the proceedings," he said in the judicial document.
Prosecutors say Shakira was residing in Catalonia during the mentioned years, but a representative for her affairs says that she did not reside in Spain until 2015 and has already fulfilled all her tax obligations.
Her representatives in Spain said in an emailed statement on Thursday that the court document was an "expected step in the process" and that Shakira's legal team "remains confident (of her position) and fully cooperates with the judiciary and will not comment further."
