Shakira is headed to court.
On Sept. 27, a judge ordered that the Columbian pop star will be brought to trial in Spain on six charges of tax fraud, according to the Associated Press (via NBC News).
The date for the trial—which will take place in the town of Esplugues de Llobregat near Barcelona—has yet to be set.
In 2018, Spanish prosecutors charged Shakira, 45, with tax evasion, accusing the "She Wolf" singer of not paying up to 14.5 million euros (about $13.9 million) in taxes between 2012 and 2014. According to the AP, Spanish prosecutors alleged Shakira spent more than half of that period living in Spain—where her now-ex Gerard Piqué plays professional soccer—and should have paid taxes in the country, even though her official residence was listed as the Bahamas.
A source close to Shakira—who shares two children Milan, 9, and Sasha, 7, with Gerard, 35—told E! News in 2018 that she "did not reside in Spain longer than 183 days" between 2012 and 2014 and that she declared herself a tax resident of Spain in 2015.
"As soon as Shakira spent more than 183 days in Spain in a fiscal year," the source said, "she took the initiative to declare herself a tax resident in Spain and pay taxes in this country."
In July, the AP reported that prosecutors said they would ask a court to sentence Shakira to eight years and two months in prison, if she is convicted in her expected trial for alleged tax fraud. That same month, the Grammy winner rejected prosecutors' offer to settle the case and avoid trial.
Shakira has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, with a rep telling E! News in July that the Latin superstar "has always cooperated and abided by the law, demonstrating impeccable conduct as an individual and a taxpayer."
The statement continued, "Unfortunately, the Spanish Tax Office, which loses one out of every two lawsuits with its taxpayers, continues to violate her rights and pursue yet another baseless case. Shakira is confident that her innocence will be proven by the end of the judicial process."
The singer further maintained her innocence in a recent interview with Elle, noting that she has "to fight for what I believe."
"These are false accusations," she stated in the publication's October cover story on Sept. 21. "First of all, I didn't spend 183 days per year at that time at all. I was busy fulfilling my professional commitments around the world. Second, I've paid everything they claimed I owed, even before they filed a lawsuit. So as of today, I owe zero to them."
"I was advised by one of the four biggest tax specialist firms in the world, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, so I was confident that I was doing things correctly and transparently from day one," she continued. "However, even without evidence to support these fictional claims, as they usually do, they've resorted to a salacious press campaign to try to sway people, and apply pressure in the media along with the threat of reputational damage in order to coerce settlement agreements."