Shakira's "Whitewashed" Status in Spain

The Spanish Public Prosecutor's Office announced today, Wednesday, that it has decided to archive the case accusing Colombian singer Shakira of tax evasion and requested to cease the proceedings against the star, who previously managed to avoid trial at the end of last year in a separate procedure by paying a hefty fine. The Public Prosecutor's Office clarified in a statement that it found "insufficient evidence" to pursue the Colombian artist criminally in this case, where she was accused of tax fraud related to the year 2018. A court in the outskirts of Barcelona announced last July the initiation of this case against the Colombian singer, suspected of using companies based in tax havens to avoid paying income and wealth taxes entirely for that year. The star paid 6.6 million euros to the court the following month to demonstrate her "desire to settle any debts" owed to the Spanish tax authorities. This amount included the owed taxes, late payment interest, and settlement fees.