Shakira is facing more than eight years in Spanish prison for tax fraud

Although Shakira was first hit with the charges in 2018, the artist only elected to decline the plea deal this week (she previously asserted her innocence during her testimony for a rejected June 2019 appeal.) The artist’s public relations firm, Llorente y Cuenca, said in a statement on Wednesday that Shakira chose to take the case to trial because she sees it as “a total violation of her rights” and “trusts her innocence and chooses to leave the issue in the hands of the law.” “The singer is fully confident of her innocence and therefore does not accept a settlement,” the statement continued.

Much of the case hinges on where Shakira, 45, was living between the years of 2012 and 2014. Prosecutors claim that Shakira lived mostly in Spain during those years even though her primary residence was listed as The Bahamas—in 2021, Spanish judge Marco Juberías wrote that his three-year probe into Shakira’s tax history reflected “sufficient evidence of criminality” warranting a trial.

Conversely, the artist’s publicists insist Shakira has paid the money she allegedly owes to the Spanish Tax Agency in addition to €3 million in interest, and has no pending debts. “Shakira’s conduct on tax matters has always been impeccable in all the countries where she has had to pay taxes, and she has trusted and faithfully followed the recommendations of the best specialists and expert advisors,” they shared in a statement back in May.

A trial date has yet to be set for the case, but the strength of Shakira’s publicists’ statement suggests she’s ready whenever, wherever to defend her name.