Shakira is sent to trial for tax fraud by a Spanish court

A Spanish court officially told Colombian superstar Shakira to stand trial on Tuesday, September 27. She is accused of not paying 14.5 million euros ($14.31 million) in income taxes, according to a court document that came out on Tuesday.

The 45-year-old singer of “Hips Don’t Lie,” whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, turned down a deal to settle the case in July. This meant that she would have to go to trial, where she could get eight years in prison.

Tuesday, the court in Esplugues de Llobregat said that the trial will happen on a date that has not yet been set.

The singer is accused of not paying taxes between 2012 and 2014, when she said she was living a “nomadic life” because of her work. The prosecutor wants to put her in prison for eight years.

“The judge’s decision to send Shakira to court is just another step in a case like this. Nothing has changed, and everything keeps going as usual. Shakira’s legal team will do its job by putting its written arguments on the table at the right time,” her lawyers said in a statement.

Shakira said last week that she would fight what she called “false” accusations by Spanish authorities. She also said that she had already paid what the Spanish tax office said she owed before they filed a lawsuit.