Pop singer Shakira to face trial over tax fraud in Spain
The 33-year-old Mexican singer has been in dispute with the Spanish tax office since 2000.
A Spanish judge has issued an arrest warrant accusing Shakira of fraud and tax fraud after the singer failed to provide “credible evidence” to support her claims.
A judicial source said the police had made the arrests following investigations launched by the courts.
Spanish media reports say Spanish police raided the singer’s home in Malabar, Mallorca, on January 31 and that, as officers searched her home, she locked herself in a bedroom.
A judge in Madrid issued a provisional arrest warrant for Shakira in January over tax fraud.
Shakira, who is believed to earn over one billion dollars a year from her music, has refused to comment on the case.
The singer came under investigation after she claimed in 2000 that she had avoided paying taxes in tax fraud.
However, two years later, she said she had paid all her taxes on time and the authorities reopened an investigation after it emerged she did not have the proper paperwork.
In 2010, a tax fraud case against Shakira was dropped when she admitted to breaking tax rules and paying a total of 10m euros at a tax court.
Spanish tax officials have confirmed that they opened eight investigations concerning Shakira between 2010 and 2011.
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