Shakira Acquitted of Tax Fraud in Spain, Will Be Reimbursed $64 Million: Singer Says She’s Spent Eight Years ‘Enduring Campaigns to Destroy My Reputation’

May 18, 2026 7:11am PT Shakira Acquitted of Tax Fraud in Spain, Will Be Reimbursed $64 Million: Singer Says She’s Spent Eight Years ‘Enduring Campaigns to Destroy My Reputation’

By Jem Aswad

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Jem Aswad

Executive Editor, Music

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(Photo by Aliah Anderson/Getty Images)

After an eight-year court battle, a Spanish court has ordered the country’s treasury to refund nearly $65 million to singer Shakira after ruling that the money was improperly collected.

The country’s high court has acquitted the Colombian singer of tax fraud and ordered the treasury to repay the money to her, with interest. In the ruling, the court said that tax authorities failed to prove Shakira had spent 183 days in Spain in 2011, effectively making her a resident and liable for personal income tax. The court ruled instead that she had spent just 163 days in the country during that financial year.

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