A Spanish court has ordered the country’s tax authority to refund €55m (£48m, $64m) to singer Shakira after ruling that the money was improperly collected in a dispute over her taxes.
The national high court has acquitted the Colombian singer of tax fraud and ordered the Treasury to repay the money plus interest to her.
It said tax authorities had failed to prove she spent 183 days in Spain in 2011 – the minimum required for residents to pay personal income tax there.
Shakira said the court had “finally set the record straight” after she had spent eight years “enduring brutal public targeting, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and sleepless nights that ultimately impacted my health and my family’s well-being”.
The 49-year-old star, who is known for hits like Hips Don’t Lie and Wherever, Whenever, added: “There was never any fraud, and the Administration itself could never prove otherwise, simply because it wasn’t true.
“Yet, for nearly a decade, I was treated as guilty. Every step of the process was leaked, distorted, and amplified, using my name and public image to send a threatening message to the rest of the taxpayers.
“Today, that narrative crumbles, and it does so with the full force of a court ruling.”
The repayment includes about €24m (£21m) in income tax and almost €25m (£22m) in fines for what authorities had described as a “very serious” infringement.
The tax agency said it would appeal to the Supreme Court and that no payment would be made until the final ruling.
Shakira lived with former Barcelona and Spain footballer Gerard Pique for more than a decade after reportedly meeting in 2010 while filming the music video for Waka Waka, the official song of the World Cup in South Africa.
