Shakira Walks Free and Spain Must Return Tens of Millions

A Spanish court acquitted the Grammy-winning singer on tax fraud charges and ordered the country's tax authorities to return a sum in the eight-figure range — closing a case that opened in 2018.

A Spanish court acquitted Shakira of tax fraud charges that dated back to 2018.
Spain's tax authorities have been ordered to return tens of millions of dollars to her.
Her lawyer described the case as 'an eight-year ordeal that has taken an unacceptable toll.'
The dispute centered on whether Shakira was a legal resident of Spain during the years in question.
Spanish prosecutors had previously sought a multi-year prison sentence and a substantial fine.

A Spanish court has acquitted Shakira of tax fraud charges and ordered the country's tax authorities to return a sum her representatives describe as eight figures, according to reporting published by Page Six on May 18, 2026.

The case, which prosecutors filed on the basis that she was a tax resident of Spain between 2012 and 2014, had pursued her through multiple jurisdictions and negotiations since at least 2018. Prosecutors had sought a prison term and a fine running into the tens of millions of euros.

Her lawyer issued a statement calling the acquittal the end of “an eight-year ordeal that has taken an unacceptable toll.” The court, apparently, agreed — and sent the bill back to Madrid.

Shakira had previously settled a separate tax dispute with Spanish authorities in 2023, paying roughly $7.6 million and receiving a suspended sentence in that matter. The case resolved this week is distinct from that settlement.

The eight-figure repayment order moves in the opposite direction from every prior headline in the case. The tax authorities who opened the file in 2018 will now be processing the refund.