Spanish tax authorities have launched an investigation into Shakira for tax evasion, saying they suspect the Colombian pop star dodged income taxes in the country between 2012 and 2014.
Shakira, who has been in a long-term relationship with Spanish football star Gerard Pique since 2011, officially switched her residence from the Bahamas to Barcelona in 2015. But Spanish authorities suspect she moved to the Catalan capital before that, and failed to declare it to tax authorities.
Photo: WikipediaTax authorities referred the probe into the singer's affairs to Barcelona's prosecutor in December, though a decision as to whether or not to press charges is not expected until June.
Shakira has hired auditing firm PwC to represent her throughout the investigation.
READ: As Shakira tours the globe, her image rights sit tight at Smart City
Spanish tax authorities have dug deep into celebrities' tax affairs in recent years, with football stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi two of the most high-profile people to fall foul of the Spanish exchequer.
Shakira's Malta connection
The pop star was revealed by the Paradise Papers data leak to have transferred all her intellectual property to a company based at Smart City in Kalkara back in 2009.
Tournesol Limited received the rights to the Colombian singer's musical assets, intellectual property and trademarks, valuing them at €32 million, in July of that year, from another Shakira-owned company in Luxembourg.
"The Maltese company Tournesol Limited fulfills all legal requirements to operate as such. All of the corresponding information relative to this entity is public and transparent," one of Shakira's lawyers said when asked about the singer's tax arrangements at the time.