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Shakira has been acquitted in Spain's long-running tax fraud dispute over her 2011 income, with the country's High Court ruling that she was not a resident that year.
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The decision, announced on May 18, cancels a fine of more than €55 million and orders the Treasury to pay back over €60 million (nearly $70 million) plus interest.
The case centred on whether the singer spent more than 183 days in Spain in 2011, the threshold for tax residency. Authorities argued she was tied to the country through her relationship with former footballer Gerard Piqué, but the court found she had only been there for 163 days.
Judges also ruled her personal ties could not be equated to marriage, nor was it proven that her main economic base was in Spain.
In a statement, Shakira said the ruling ends "more than eight years of enduring brutal public targeting, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation, and sleepless nights that ultimately impacted my health and my family's well-being."
She 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."
She dedicated the victory to ordinary citizens, saying her "greatest wish is that this ruling sets a precedent for the Treasury and serves the thousands of ordinary citizens who are abused and crushed every day by a system that presumes their guilt and forces them to prove their innocence at the cost of economic and emotional ruin."
Her lawyer, José Luis Prada, called the resolution "an immense relief and a source of deep pride," noting that while Shakira had the resources to fight, "this modus operandi suffocates many ordinary taxpayers who do not have the means to defend themselves."
He praised the independence of the courts, saying it shows "we can rely on a justice system that truly works and ensures the rule of law."
