Shakira has paid £5.7 million to a Spanish court investigating her for alleged unpaid taxes, according to her agent. This payment follows her recent deal to avoid trial in another tax case. Spanish prosecutors accused the Colombian superstar of using a network of companies, some in tax havens, to evade approximately £5.7 million in taxes in 2018, including interest and adjustments.

This criminal investigation was initiated alongside Shakira’s admission last week to six counts of tax fraud totaling £12.7 million for the years 2012 to 2014. By settling her tax debt, Shakira may receive a more lenient sentence if the ongoing criminal probe results in a trial.

Shakira has not yet been questioned by a judge, and it’s anticipated that any questioning will occur via video link to avoid her having to return to Barcelona from her current base in Miami. In a statement after admitting to tax fraud, Shakira explained that she made these decisions for the sake of her career and her two sons, Milan and Sasha. She emphasized her desire to shield her children from the distress of a court trial and criticized the Spanish tax system, pledging to advocate for reforms.

Her guilty plea spared her from facing a trial where prosecutors sought an eight-year, two-month jail term and a £21 million fine. Instead, Shakira received a three-year prison sentence, substituted with a fine, and was ordered to pay £6.4 million for the tax fraud offenses she admitted to, along with an additional £378,000 to avoid imprisonment.

Shakira returned to Miami after the proceedings, leaving her children with their father, Gerard Pique, in Barcelona temporarily. The recent £5.7 million payment to the court further demonstrates her commitment to settling her financial obligations to the Spanish tax authorities, although it does not imply guilt or innocence in the ongoing investigation.