Spanish courts have ordered music superstar Shakira to stand trial for tax fraud.
The Columbian singer, 45, had been warned that she could be jailed for up to eight years if she is found guilty of an alleged £12 million tax fraud.
After denying the allegations, Shakira will now stand trial for tax fraud, according to AFP.
The Hips Don't Lie singer is accused of pretending to live abroad and using an existing complex offshore corporate structure to avoid meeting her tax obligations from 2012 to 2014 despite starting a relationship with former Man United defender Pique in 2011 and moving to Barcelona.
Last month, Spanish state prosecutors were demanding the stiff jail sentence if the singer is convicted at trial.
In July, the Colombian-born mum-of-two confirmed she had rejected an out-of-court deal believed to have involved her admitting to wrongdoing after she was charged with defrauding the Spanish treasury over a three-year period between 2012 and 2014.
She was charged with six separate counts of tax fraud totalling 14.5 million euros (£12.18 million) after a long-running investigation.
The singer, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, has continued to deny the allegations, and said she "trusts her innocence and chooses to leave the issue in the hands of the law," in a statement which was made on July 27.
As well as an eight-year prison sentence, state prosecutors want Shakira to be hit with a fine of 23 million euros (£19.2 million) if she is convicted as charged during the trial.
The prosecution indictment has been submitted to an investigating court in Esplugues de Llobregat near Barcelona, which has been probing the singer.
The artist, previously a tax resident in the Bahamas, allegedly only registered as a full tax resident in Spain in 2015.
Official residents in Spain pay Spanish taxes on their worldwide income.
People who spent more than 183 days in a given calendar year in Spain are considered Spanish residents for tax purposes.
Tax inspectors spent more than a year checking up on Shakira, even visiting her favourite hairdressers in Barcelona and checking her social media to try to show she spent most of the three years in dispute in Spain.
They concluded she had spent 242 days in Spain in 2012, 212 days in 2013 and 243 days in the country in 2014.
The report prosecutors submitted along with their criminal complaint alleged the time she spent out of Spain were “sporadic absences” linked to work commitments.
However, Shakira has denied any wrongdoing. Her PR firm Llorente y Cuenca said in a statement earlier this week: “She believes in her innocence and has opted to leave the issue in the hands of the law.”
Hitting back at the allegations, Shakira insists she had legal residency in the Bahamas at the time, and did not spend 183 days or more per year in Spain, which is the threshold to be considered a tax resident.
Her spokesperson said in a statement: "Shakira has always cooperated and abided by the law, demonstrating impeccable conduct as an individual and a taxpayer, and faithfully following the counsel of PriceWaterhouse Coopers, a prestigious and globally recognised tax firm.
"Unfortunately, the Spanish Tax Office, which loses one out of every two lawsuits with its taxpayers, continues to violate her rights and pursue yet another baseless case.
"Shakira is confident that her innocence will be proven by the end of the judicial process."
The Mirror has contacted Shakira's representatives for comment.
