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Shakira reached a last-minute deal with Spanish prosecutors on the first day of her tax fraud trial. The Colombian pop star will avoid prison time after she answered "yes" to confirm that she knew about the six counts of failing to pay the Spanish government 14.5 million euros (~$15.8 million) in taxes between 2012 and 2014, according to AP News.
The deal, which was agreed upon just eight minutes into the trial, requires Shakira to pay a fine of 7.3 million euros ($8 million) but she will receive a suspended three-year sentence. To waive the sentence, she will pay another fine of 432,000 euros ($472,000). The singer's legal record will show that she was found guilty of tax fraud, which according to AP, "could effect another pending case she has with tax officials."
Shakira reacted to the outcome in a statement released by her public relations firm. "I have made the decision to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight,” she said per AP. “I need to move past the stress and emotional toll of the last several years and focus on the things I love, my kids and all the opportunities to come in my career.”
The global superstar previously turned down a deal offered to her by prosecutors to settle the cast back in July 2022. At the time, Shakira's PR firm Llorente y Cuenca said she “believes in her innocence and chooses to leave the issue in the hands of the law.”