After nearly five years of maintaining her innocence, pop star Shakira struck a last-minute deal on the opening day of her tax fraud trial in Barcelona. The trial, which would have included more than 100 witnesses over the following weeks, was called off after just eight minutes. Shakira accepted the agreement reached with prosecutors, acknowledging six counts of failing to pay the Spanish government 14.5 million euros in taxes between 2012 and 2014. Under the deal, she will receive a suspended three-year sentence and pay a fine of 7.3 million euros. Additionally, she will pay another fine of 432,000 euros in exchange for waiving her sentence.

However, despite avoiding prison, Shakira now has a guilty verdict on her legal record, which could potentially affect another pending case she has with tax officials. Prosecutors had initially sought a prison sentence of eight years and two months, as well as a fine of 24 million euros. The singer, known for her hits in Spanish and English across various musical genres, expressed her decision to resolve the matter with the best interests of her children at heart.

The case centered around the location of Shakira's residence during the period in question. Prosecutors alleged that she spent more than half of that period in Spain and should have paid taxes on her worldwide income in the country, despite her official residence being in the Bahamas. The Bahamas has significantly lower tax rates than Spain.

Shakira, now 46, made her way into the courthouse, waving and blowing a kiss to a small crowd of bystanders. Seated in front of a panel of judges, she was flanked by teams of prosecutors and her defense. Her defense lawyer, Miriam Company, addressed reporters, stating that while they had prepared to demonstrate her innocence, the circumstances changed, leading Shakira to accept the deal.

This agreement comes after Shakira turned down a previous deal offered by prosecutors in July 2022, asserting her belief in her innocence and leaving the matter in the hands of the law. The details of that potential deal were not disclosed. Shakira's name had been among those revealed in the “Paradise Papers” leaks, which exposed the offshore tax arrangements of numerous high-profile individuals, including Madonna and Bono.

Shakira's public relations firm previously stated that she had already paid all her owed taxes, along with an additional 3 million euros in interest. However, her defense team argued that she had not spent more than 60 days a year in Spain during the period in question. They emphasized her extensive world tour in 2011 and her time spent in the United States as a jury member on The Voice.

Despite the resolution of this trial, Shakira still faces a separate investigation by Spanish state prosecutors. In September, she was charged with alleged tax evasion of 6.7 million euros on her 2018 income. The prosecutors accused her of using an offshore company based in a tax haven to avoid paying taxes. Spain has notably cracked down on high-profile individuals, including soccer stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, for tax evasion in recent years.

Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, has two children with Barcelona soccer star Gerard Pique. The couple lived together in Barcelona before their separation last year, and Shakira now resides in Miami. After her recent success at the Latin Grammy Awards, she expressed gratitude to her fans in Spain for standing by her through good and bad times.