The Colombian singer, who switched residences in 2015 from the Bahamas to Barcelona, allegedly failed to pay income taxes in Spain

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Judicial authorities in Spain say Shakira is under investigation for possible tax evasion during the three years before she officially moved to Barcelona.



The Colombian singer switched residences in 2015 from the Bahamas to Barcelona, where she lives with her partner, Barça soccer player Gerard Piqué, and the couple’s two sons.

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Tax authorities suspect the singer already lived in the north-east city between 2012 and 2014, when she allegedly failed to pay income taxes in Spain.

Prosecutor José Miguel Company said on Tuesday that Spanish tax authorities referred the inquiry to the Barcelona prosecutor’s office in December. He said a decision is expected by mid-June.

Anna Forastier, a spokeswoman for auditing firm PwC, said the company has been hired by Shakira for the investigation but declined to disclose any details.

Last year, the singer-songwriter appeared in the Paradise Papers, an investigation by the Guardian and other news organisations into the world of offshore finance. According to the papers, she was listed as a resident of the Bahamas despite living in Barcelona.

She was also listed as the sole shareholder of Tournesol Ltd, a Malta company with €3m ($4.27m) in share capital. Malta, the smallest EU member state, has faced accusations that it operates as a tax haven.



The papers revealed that in June 2009 Shakira’s “musical assets, intellectual property rights and trademarks” were moved to Tournesol. At the same time the Malta-based business increased its capital with a share premium of €31m ($44.1m) following a valuation of those musical assets by the New York consultancy Gelfand, Rennert & Feldman.

The €31m came in the form of an “interest-free loan agreement” from another Shakira entity in Luxembourg named ACE Entertainment. The loan was annulled in 2014.

A lawyer representing the singer told the consortium of journalists working on the Paradise Papers that Tournesol Ltd “fulfils all legal requirements. All of the corresponding information relative to this entity is public and transparent.”

Asked about her listed residence in the Bahamas, the lawyer added that as an international artist Shakira had lived in a variety of places “throughout her professional career and, in every case, has fully met the laws of all the jurisdictions where she has resided”.