Shakira reaches deal with tax authorities to avoid $15 million tax fraud trial

Pop star Shakira has agreed to a deal with Spanish authorities on the first day of a tax fraud trial in Barcelona on Monday.

Shakira told the presiding judge that she accepted the agreement reached with prosecutors.

The Colombian singer faced six counts of failing to pay the Spanish government 14.5 million euros (about $15.8 million) in taxes between 2012 and 2014.

The case hinged on where Shakira lived during that period. Prosecutors in Barcelona alleged that the Colombian singer spent more than half of that period in Spain and therefore should have paid taxes on her worldwide income in the country even though her official residence was still in the Bahamas. Tax rates are much lower in the Bahamas than in Spain.

When she showed up earlier, she waved and blew a kiss to a small crowd of bystanders before entering the courthouse.

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