No prison for Shakira - 11th Dec 2023

Colombian pop star Shakira is now free. She isn't going to prison. She agreed to pay the Spanish government. She paid 22 million euros.

Shakira's partner was footballer Gerard Piqué. They lived in Barcelona with their two sons. The Spanish government said Shakira's first home was in Spain. She needed to pay tax for 2012-2014 – 14.5 million euros. Shakira said this wasn't true. Her first home wasn't in Spain. It was in the Bahamas.

The law case continued for many years. For Shakira, the Spanish government just wanted her money. She says she did nothing wrong. At first the singer wanted to fight. But she changed her mind. She had to think of her family, Shakira said.

The same thing happened to other famous people. Footballers Ronaldo and Messi had to pay the Spanish government. The government has an important message. It's for rich foreigners – if you live in Spain, you pay.