Shakira has been acquitted in her tax fraud case after an “eight-year ordeal” — and she’s receiving a massive payout as a result.
Not only is the Grammy winner being reimbursed for the $64 million fine imposed in 2021, but she is getting an additional sum to cover fines and interest.
The songwriter will receive more than $70 million, Reuters reported Monday.
The judge ruled that authorities did not prove Shakira spent more than 183 days in Spain in 2011, the requirement for being considered a tax resident.
The singer, 49, celebrated the win — and insisted “there was never any fraud” — in a statement to TMZ.
It read, “After more than eight years of enduring brutal public targeting, orchestrated campaigns to destroy my reputation and sleepless nights that ultimately impacted my health and my family’s well-being, the National High Court has finally set the record straight.”
Her lawyer, Jose Luis Prada, added, “[The victory] comes after an eight-year ordeal that has taken an unacceptable toll, reflecting a lack of rigor in administrative practice.”
The tax agency, however, reportedly plans to appeal with the Supreme Court — and will not pay Shakira until the final ruling.
Shakira’s rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
The performer’s legal battle, notably, began when she was indicted in 2018 and she has maintained her innocence ever since.
Although Shakira denied skipping out on $15.8 million in taxes between 2012 and 2014, she struck up a deal with the Spanish government on her first day of trial in November 2023.
After settling for $15 million, Shakira wrote that she did so “with the best interest of [her] kids at heart.”
Milan, 13, and Sasha, 11, did “not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight,” she explained in a statement.
In a Mundo essay the following year, Shakira doubled down on making the choice to “protect” her and ex Gerard Piqué‘s sons.
“I need them to know that I made the decisions I made to protect them, to be by their side and to get on with my life,” she wrote in September 2024. “Not out of cowardice or guilt.”
Legal war aside, Shakira made headlines earlier this month for being tapped as one of the FIFA World Cup 2026 halftime show performers, alongside Madonna and K-pop band BTS.
Fans, meanwhile, raged against the decision and insisted they “don’t want” a halftime show, calling the decision an attempt to “make everything americanified.”
