Shakira reaches deal to settle tax fraud case

BARCELONA, Nov 20 (AFP): Colombian superstar Shakira will pay millions of euros in fines as part of a settlement announced Monday with Spanish prosecutors to settle her tax fraud case and avoid trial.

Under the deal, announced at the start of what would have been the trial of the 46-year-old singer, Shakira agreed to receive a three-year suspended sentence and to pay 7.3 million euros ($7.98 million) in fines.

Prosecutors had accused the superstar of defrauding the Spanish state of 14.5 million euros ($15.7 million) on income earned between 2012 and 2014, charges Shakira had denied, saying she only moved to Spain full time in 2015.

The singer, who wore a pink suit and sunglasses, did not speak to the throng of reporters as he entered and left the Barcelona courthouse, but in a statement she said she had agreed to settle for the sake of her two sons, Milan and Sasha.

"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," she said in the statement issued by her lawyers.