For most of this millennium, Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll has been famous for three things: her mane of hair, her truth-telling hips and, of course, her voice (which shifts registers so rapidly that it has been likened to yodelling). And now, more than 30 years into her career, the “Queen of Latin Music” can add a few more things to the list: strawberry jam, receiving the “Latin Woman of the Year” award at the inaugural Latin Women in Music gala, and alleged tax evasion!
Shakira has had quite the year. Last September, a judge in Spain ruled that she must stand trial over accusations of tax fraud. This came after she was named in the Paradise Papers in 2017, and then subsequently had her finances investigated by Spanish authorities. The Spanish government eventually charged Shakira with defrauding the country of €14.5m in taxes between 2012 and 2014. Shakira’s defence team filed an appeal to try and stop the trial, but they lost. If they had accepted the plea and paid the money, the prosecution would have reduced the prison sentence they called for, but that would have essentially been an admittance of guilt. Instead, Shakira and her defence decided to try and prove her innocence, and consequently the prosecutor asked the judge for an eight-year prison sentence over six alleged tax fraud crimes. Headlines and tweeters the world over asked the same question: hang on, is Shakira going to jail?
