Investigation into Shakira’s alleged tax evasion dropped by Spanish authorities

Prosecutors on Wednesday asked a Spanish court for the criminal case against the Colombian singer to be dropped, citing “a lack of evidence"

The investigation by Spanish authorities into an alleged tax fraud by Shakira is officially no more.

On Wednesday, prosecutors asked a Spanish court for the criminal case against the Colombian singer to be dropped, citing “a lack of evidence" — and on Thursday, the court agreed, according to The Guardian. EW has reached out to Shakira's legal team for comment.

The case was first opened in July, with prosecutors alleging the singer used an offshore company to evade paying the tax office up to €6.6m ($7.2 million) in 2018. Shakira settled the debt a month later, according to the report.

The court ruling Thursday comes nearly six months after Shakira settled a separate tax fraud case with the Spanish government in November.

That case began in 2018, when Spanish prosecutors charged the Latin American superstar for failing to pay 14.5 million euros (about $15 million) in taxes on income earned between 2012 and 2014. Shakira's representatives claimed she did not reside in Spain during that period and referred to her official residence in the Bahamas, but prosecutors argued that she lived in the northern region of Catalonia during those years.

Following a year-long investigation, prosecutors argued that the Grammy winner reported the Bahamas — a country with a lower tax rate than Spain — as her residence while she spent much of that time residing in Spain with her former partner, Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué, and their two sons, according to the Associated Press. In 2017, Shakira was identified in the "Paradise Papers," which leaked offshore tax agreements of high-profile figures, including Madonna and Bono.

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Related: Shakira faces up to 8 years in prison for allegedly not paying taxes in Spain

In July 2022, the "Whenever, Wherever" singer initially rejected a settlement offered by a prosecutor in the case, paving her path to the trial. Shakira's media representatives released a statement to Reuters at the time reiterating that she has consistently met all of her tax requirements.

"The singer is fully confident of her innocence and therefore does not accept a settlement," Shakira's reps said, adding that the case is "a total violation of her rights."

Ultimately, that trial was concluded on the day it started, after the singer agreed to settle after all. According to the BBC, Shakira paid a fine of €7.5 million, although she still denied any wrongdoing.

Related: Shakira settles Spanish tax fraud case without going to trial

"While I was determined to defend my innocence in a trial that my lawyers were confident would have ruled in my favor, I have made the decision to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight," she said in a statement given to EW at the time. "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.”

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.