Shakira says she settled a Spanish tax dispute for $15 million to “protect” her children

More than a year after reaching an agreement with Spanish prosecutors in tax fraud cases, Shakira is now commenting on her controversial legal dispute.

The Colombian superstar avoided a possible prison sentence last year when she agreed to pay a $7.5 million fine in her tax fraud case. But in a new letter published in Spanish newspaper The Daily Telegraph, The worldShakira, who denies any wrongdoing, accused the Spanish authorities of “ [her] at the stake” to make her agency look better – and said she had only agreed to a settlement for the benefit of her two young sons, Milan (11) and Sasha (9).

“I want to leave my children the legacy of a woman who explained her reasons calmly and at her own pace when she felt it was necessary, not when she was forced to,” Shakira wrote. “I want them to know that I made the decisions to protect them, to be by their side and to move on with my life. Not out of cowardice or guilt.”

The 47-year-old “Hips Don't Lie” singer was accused of tax fraud in 2018. Authorities said she lived in Spain between 2012 and 2014 and therefore owed nearly $16 million in unpaid income taxes.

In her letter, Shakira wrote that 2023 was a difficult year for her, with the media watching her every move to catch her “breakdown” during her court case and her much-publicized split from her long-time partner Gerard Piqué.

“But the most frustrating thing was that a government institution seemed more interested in publicly burning me at the stake than listening to my reasons. Well, I think it's time to fight back,” she wrote, before accusing the tax authorities of inventing a “fabricated story” about her taxes to “create liabilities that don't even exist.”

The star said when she started dating Piqué in 2011, she wanted their relationship to “flourish” and as he was tied to Spain due to work commitments, she made an effort to spend time there. Still, she said this “brought a lot of complications” as it took her away from her own work.

When she decided to live in Spain as an expat in 2015, the tax authorities “immediately tried to charge her fees for the past ten years,” she wrote.

“What seemed like a polite way to formalise my situation turned out to be a trap,” she said, pointing out that she only spent 73 days in Spain in 2011 and the minimum period set by law for tax residency is 183 days. “A person who spends their time travelling the world cannot have the intention of having tax residency in one place just because the person they are in a relationship with at the time lives there.”

Shakira said she has “always complied” with her tax obligations and that other investigations by agencies such as the IRS have revealed nothing unusual. She accused Spanish tax authorities of trying to restore their credibility with “hunting trophies” and said they did so by “intimidating people, threatening them with prison, putting our children's peace of mind at risk and pressuring us to break ourselves.”

“They wanted to make the public believe that I had not paid my taxes, when the truth is that I paid much more than I should have,” she said, referring to the fines she had voluntarily paid, which she said were “unjustified.”

The Grammy winner said she felt now was the right time to speak out as she felt the need to write her own story.

“Some may wonder why I am bothering to make these statements now. The first reason is my children. We live in an era marked by a tone of arrogance on the part of the state, but harassment is not the same as giving reasons,” she said. “Things will not be solved by burning a public figure at the stake every year, as if it were an inquisition process to restore lost prestige.”

She added: “No one can write my story for me. Just like my songs, I sing to live peacefully again, to close the chapter.”

If convicted, Shakira faced eight years in prison and a fine of more than $26 million. In November 2023, she agreed to a hefty fine in court, which also included a three-year suspended sentence.

In a statement provided to PEOPLE at the time, Shakira maintained her innocence and said she settled the case for the sake of her sons, whom she has with her ex Piqué.

“While I was determined to defend my innocence in a trial that my attorneys were confident would have been decided in my favor, I made the decision to finally settle this matter in the best interests of my children, who do not want their mother to sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight,” she said. “Throughout my career, I have always strived to do the right thing and set a positive example for others.”

In May, prosecutors in Spain dropped further tax fraud charges against the star, saying there was insufficient evidence of the crime. The charges related to tax returns for her 2018 income. She was reportedly accused of failing to pay around $7.2 million in taxes that year by using an offshore company in a tax haven.