Shakira Says She Settled $15M Spanish Tax Case to 'Protect' Her Children, Not Because She Was Guilty

"Things are not solved by burning one public figure at the stake every year as if it were an Inquisition trial in order to recover lost prestige," she wrote in a scathing public letter

More than a year after reaching a settlement with Spanish prosecutors over tax fraud allegations, Shakira is speaking out on her contentious legal battle.

The Colombian superstar avoided a possible prison sentence last year when she agreed to pay a $7.5 million fine in her tax fraud case. But in a new letter published in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Shakira, who has denied any wrongdoing, accused Spanish authorities of “burning [her] at the stake” in order to make their agency look better — and said she only agreed to settle for the sake of her two young sons, Milan, 11, and Sasha, 9.

“I want to leave my children the legacy of a woman who explained her reasons calmly and in her own time, when she considered it necessary, not when she was forced to,” Shakira wrote. “I need them to know that I made the decisions I made to protect them, to be by their side and to get on with my life. Not out of cowardice or guilt.”

The “Hips Don’t Lie” singer, 47, was accused of tax fraud in 2018, with authorities claiming that she lived in Spain between 2012 and 2014, and therefore owed nearly $16 million in unpaid income tax.

Related: Shakira Settles Spanish Tax Fraud Case with the 'Best Interest of My Kids at Heart'

In her letter, Shakira wrote that 2023 was a difficult year for her, as the media was watching her every move to catch her “breaking down” amid her court trial and her high-profile breakup with longtime partner Gerard Piqué.

“But the most frustrating thing was that a state institution seemed more interested in publicly burning me at the stake than in listening to my reasons. Well, I think the time has come to hit back,” she wrote, before accusing tax authorities of making up a “contrived story” over her taxes to “create obligations that did not exist.”

The star said that when she first started dating Piqué in 2011, she wanted their relationship to “prosper,” and because work obligations kept him tied to Spain, she made efforts to spend time there. Still, she said doing so “created many complications,” as it took her away from her own work.

When she decided to live in Spain as an expatriate in 2015, the tax agency “immediately tried to charge” her for the past 10 years, she wrote.

“What seemed like a polite way of formalizing my situation turned out to be a trap,” she said, noting she only spent 73 days in Spain in 2011, and the minimum established by law to be a tax resident is 183 days. “A person who spends their time touring the world cannot have the intention of being a tax resident in a place just because the person they are in a relationship with at the time lives there.”

Shakira said she “always fulfilled” her tax obligations, and said that other investigations from agencies like the IRS found no issues. She accused Spanish tax authorities of wanting “hunting trophies” to help rebuild their credibility, and said they’ve done so by “intimidating people, threatening them with jail, putting our children’s peace of mind at risk and putting us under pressure to break us.”

“They wanted to make the public believe that I did not pay my taxes, when the truth is that I paid much more than I should have,” she said, referring to the fines she paid voluntarily that she says were “unjustified.”

The Grammy-winning singer said she felt now was the right time to speak up as she felt a need to write her own narrative.

“There may be those who wonder why I am bothering to make these statements now. The first reason is my children. We have lived in an era marked by a tone of arrogance from the State, but bullying is not the same as giving reasons,” she said. “Things are not solved by burning one public figure at the stake every year as if it were an Inquisition trial in order to recover lost prestige.”

Related: Shakira's Tax Evasion Case Dropped by Prosecutors in Spain Months After Singer Settled Separate Tax Case

She added, “No one can write my story for me. Just like with my songs, I sing to live peacefully again, to turn the page.”

Shakira was facing eight years in jail and a fine of more than $26 million if found guilty. She settled the case in court in November 2023 with a hefty fine in a deal that also included a three-year suspended sentence.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE at the time, Shakira maintained her innocence, and said she’d settled the case for her sons, whom she shares with ex Piqué.

“While I was determined to defend my innocence in a trial that my lawyers were confident would have ruled in my favor, I have made the decision to finally resolve this matter with the best interest of my kids at heart who do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight," she said. “Throughout my career, I have always strived to do what’s right and set a positive example for others.”

In May, prosecutors in Spain dropped additional tax fraud charges against the star, saying there was not enough evidence of the crime. The charges were linked to taxes filed on her 2018 income, and she’d reportedly been accused of failing to pay about $7.2 million in taxes that year by using an offshore company located in a tax haven.

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