Shakira’s lawyer blames ex PIQUE for £7m tax fraud bill & says she’d have saved a fortune if she fell for Ramos instead
SHAKIRA’S lawyer has blamed Gerard Pique for her tax woes – and said she would have saved £100million by dating his rival star Sergio Ramos instead.
Pau Molins said her 11-year romance with the retired Barcelona footballer led to her facing six tax fraud charges instead of three.
After finalising a plea deal yesterday, the lawyer claimed Spain’s tax laws are not fair to everyone.
He said residents in Madrid – where Ramos played for Real – do not pay wealth tax unlike those living in Catalonia, where Shakira lived with Barca ace Pique.
Mr Molins said: “Shakira’s infatuation has cost her 120million euros.
“If she had fallen in love with Sergio Ramos instead of Gerard Pique, it would have cost her a lot less.
“They go on about the equality of all Spaniards, but it turns out that if you’re resident in Catalonia you can go to jail for a crime they couldn’t imprison you for in Madrid, even if you’re doing the same thing, because there is no wealth tax.”
Mr Pau also insisted he had wanted to go to trial, saying: “I thought we could have won,” but said Shakira had decided to make a deal.
He went on to defend his client, claiming: “With international artists, it’s very difficult.
“Where do they live if they spend all their lives travelling? In 2011 Shakira did a world tour and visited 74 countries.
“It’s very complicated to determine where they should pay their taxes.”
Shakira admitted six counts of tax fraud yesterday at a court in Barcelona and agreed to pay £7million in a deal to avoid jail time.
She said she accepted the charges for the sake of her sons Milan, ten, and Sasha, 8, and so she can move on with her career.
In a statement issued through her representatives, Shakira said her lawyers were confident she would win the case but she opted to avoid a lengthy trial.
The singer said: “Throughout my career, I have always strived to do what’s right and set a positive example for others.
“While I was determined to defend my innocence in a trial that my lawyers were confident would have ruled in my favour, I have decided to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her well-being in this fight.
“I need to move past the stress and emotional toll of the last several years and focus on the things I love – my kids and all the opportunities to come in my career, including my upcoming world tour and my new album, both of which I am extremely excited about.
“I admire tremendously those who have fought these injustices to the end, but for me, today, winning is getting my time back for my kids and my career.”
The prosecution case centred whether Shakira was a resident in Spain or the Bahamas between the start of 2012 and the end of 2014.
She began dating Gerard Pique in 2010 but says she did not initially live with him in Barcelona and was not resident for tax purposes.
Her court trial, due to last until December 20 over 12 sessions, did not go ahead as a result of the plea bargain deal.
Judge Manuel del Amo confirmed in open court after hearing the singer’s guilty plea that in light of the agreement, he was handing her a three-year prison sentence – six months for each of the six counts of tax fraud she had admitted to.
He then added her prison time would be replaced by a fine.
She has been in Spain for over a week after leaving her new base in Miami, arriving on November 11 and spending two nights in a luxury hotel in Madrid before heading to Seville for the Latin Grammys.
Spain football star Ramos handed her an award at the ceremony – where she took a brutal swipe at Pique in her acceptance speech.
She returned to Barcelona with her brother Tonino, assistant Lili Melgar and her two children and spent the weekend at her old family mansion in nearby Espluges de Llobregat.
