Rejecting a pact with the Prosecutor’s Office has consequences even if the accused is Shakira. The Public Ministry has formalized its indictment this Thursday, in which it claims eight years and two months in prison for the artist for six tax crimes after the singer broke off negotiations to reach an agreement.
The image of Shakira entering prison is still more than unlikely today despite the forceful request of the Barcelona Economic Crimes Prosecutor’s Office. The final destination of the majority of trials for tax fraud of great fortunes is the pact between the accusations and the defense, since the priority is the reintegration of the evaded money and not the admission to jail.
What will be seen is the artist sitting on the bench of the accused. And she will not be able to enter through the parking lot to avoid the cameras, as she did in her statement at her instruction. There are still months to go before the trial, which has no date. Despite the fact that she was harshly dispatched against the Prosecutor’s Office and the Treasury, Shakira could still agree with the Public Ministry and the rest of the accusations until the day of the trial, which would become, in case of agreement, a brief act to ratify it.
If the negotiations are not resumed and bear fruit, it would be one of the few trials for tax fraud of large fortunes that do not end with a conformity. The most recent exception in Barcelona is that of Leo Messi, who ended up sentenced to 21 months in prison for defrauding the Treasury of 4.1 million, although he was only accused by the State Attorney’s Office and not the Treasury. Other soccer players like Eto’o or Adriano, the soprano Montserrat Caballé or the lawyer Emilio Cuatrecasas did agree, accepted a lesser sentence and paid a fine.
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