Shakira (Yui Mok/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)Latin American superstar Shakira has been ordered to stand trial in a tax fraud case.
The Colombian singer could face an eight-year jail term if convicted following accusations that she failed to pay €14.5m (£13m) in tax income between 2012 and 2014.
Representatives for the 45-year-old pop star have denied any wrongdoing and say she has always met all her tax obligations.
A Spanish judge approved a trial on charges of tax fraud on Tuesday. The date for the trial is yet to be set.
The case hinges on where Shakira – who has sold more than 80 million records worldwide with hits such as Hips Don’t Lie – lived during that period.
Prosecutors allege it was mostly in Spain even though Shakira’s official residence was in the Bahamas.
The singer says that even though her legal team disagreed about the alleged debt, she paid the €17.2m the Spanish tax office claimed she owed, so has had no outstanding debt with the tax authorities for many years.
Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, began living in Spain for periods since she started dating football player Gerard Pique.
The prosecutor’s document states that the singer bought a house in Barcelona in May 2012 which became a family home for herself, her partner and their son.
The couple, who have two children, used to live together in Barcelona but recently ended their 11-year relationship.
They had been together since 2011 after they reportedly met while filming the video for her World Cup song "Waka Waka" the previous year.
The star, who made her recording debut at age 13, is now one of the world’s most famous pop stars with an estimated net worth of $300m.
