Shakira faces second tax probe in Spain, with one trial already looming

BARCELONA, Spain â€”  Pop star Shakira is facing more trouble from Spain’s tax office after a court near Barcelona said Thursday that it had agreed to open an investigation into a second case of alleged tax fraud by the Colombian singer.

Shakira is already set to face trial, on a date to be determined, for allegedly failing to pay about $14 million in taxes on income earned between 2012 and 2014. The entertainer has denied any wrongdoing.

Now, a Spanish judge has agreed with state prosecutors to investigate two possible cases of tax fraud by Shakira from 2018. The court said it had no information on how much money was in question.

Both cases are being handled by a court in the town of Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona.

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The first case hinges on where Shakira lived during 2012-14. Prosecutors in Barcelona have alleged that the Grammy winner spent more than half of that period in Spain and should have paid taxes in the country, even though her official residence was in the Bahamas.

Shakira, whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, has been linked to Spain since she started dating the now-retired soccer player Gerard Pique. The couple, who have two children, lived together in Barcelona until last year, when they ended their 11-year relationship.

Spain has cracked down on soccer stars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo over the last decade for not fully paying their taxes. They were found guilty of evasion, but both avoided prison time thanks to a provision that allows a judge to waive sentences under two years in length for first-time offenders.