SHAKIRA is facing fresh accusations of defrauding the Spanish treasury out of millions just weeks before her initial tax trial is heard.

The Colombian songstress has been charged by prosecutors in Barcelona for a second time in a new dispute over her 2018 income.

It emerged a Spanish court launched a thorough investigation into Shakira's finances after a date was set for her first tax evasion trial.

She could face a prison sentence of over eight years if found guilty of charges of defrauding the Spanish treasury between 2012 and 2014.

Up to 200 witnesses are estimated to have given evidence as state prosecutors hope she will also be slapped with a £19.2million fine.

The pop star will have her first day in court on November 20, followed by another 11 sessions before it wraps up in December.

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Shakira will stand trial and face claims that she pretended to live abroad to dodge tax payments despite moving to Barcelona in 2011 to be with her ex, Spanish defender Gerard Pique.

It's where the former couple raised their two children, Milan and Sasha, in a £12million mansion on an exclusive gated estate in Esplugues de Llobregat.

Shakira was previously a tax resident in the Bahamas and only registered as a full tax resident in Spain four years after her move.

All official residents in Spain must pay Spanish taxes on any income received overseas.

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In addition, people who spend more than 183 days in a given calendar year in Spain are considered Spanish residents for tax purposes.

Prosecutors concluded she had spent 242 days in Spain in 2012, 212 days in 2013 and 243 days in the country in 2014.

Tax inspectors spent more than a year snooping on Shakira – even staking out her favourite hairdressers and monitoring her social media to compile evidence she spent most of her time in Spain.

She has already paid out an estimated three million euros (£2.5m) to the Spanish treasury.

But her legal team are likely now scrambling amid the latest allegations regarding her financial discrepancies in 2018.

It is alleged that the mum-of-two failed to declare more than £13million in earnings and claimed false deductions totalling around £5.5million in 2018.

Prosecutors claim she used an offshore company based in a tax haven to avoid stumping up cash for the taxman.

Shakira has been notified of the charges in Miami, where she moved in April following her split from Pique, authorities said.

The fresh probe is being dealt with at a court in Esplugues de Llobregat, which handled the initial investigation into the entertainer.

It was launched last July after investigators were given the green light to go over her tax payments with a fine toothcomb.

They claim to have discovered alleged irregularities in her tax returns.

A spokesman for Catalonia’s High Court of Justice said in July: "Court of Instruction Number 2 in Esplugues de Llobregat has opened a procedure following a complaint presented by prosecutors against the singer Shakira for two suspected tax crimes related to income tax and wealth tax for the Spanish tax year of 2018."

But the Grammy-winning artist claimed she found out about the latest charges through the media.

Her legal advisors said in a statement at the time: "Shakira has not received any formal notification of the Prosecutor’s complaint that has been, according to the media, filed for the fiscal year 2018.

"Once again, as has been the case for the past several years, it is through the media that the singer has found out about the filing of this lawsuit, proving the public and reputational pressure to which she is being subjected.

"The singer's legal team will not make any comments until the notification reaches them through the official and legally established channels."

Her team insisted she has "always acted in accordance with the law and under the advice of the best tax experts".

Before leaving Barcelona to start her new life in Miami, Shakira delivered a scathing attack on Spanish tax authorities.

The Hips Don't lie singer claimed last November she was being “persecuted” and accused the Spanish Treasury of using “unacceptable methods to damage her reputation and force her to come to a settlement agreement.”

She insisted she had no intention of making any last-minute plea bargain deals in the initial case and would go to trial.

A spokesman for the Colombian artist also made it clear she felt the country’s tax authorities were accusing her of lying about residing outside of Spain “without evidence” for the years she had been charged with tax fraud.

Shakira’s Barcelona-based publicists LLYC released a statement in November that read: “Shakira is a taxpayer who has always shown impeccable tax conduct and has never had tax problems in any other jurisdiction.

It continued: “She never exceeded the 183 days of presence in Spain required to be a tax resident.

“With no solid evidence to support the charges against her, she has been fiercely persecuted in the criminal and media spheres using unacceptable methods to damage her reputation and force her to come to a settlement agreement.

“Shakira has already paid more than 90 million euros for international income that has not been generated in Spain and for her international assets, without having a business centre in this country where she has never earned a significant income.”

Through the statement, Shakira also made it clear she felt the Spanish tax authorities were riding roughshod over her fundamental rights and privacy and were trying to damage her reputation "earned with the work of many years.”

According to the statement, she believes "her full innocence will prevail".

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Other high-profile figures such as football stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have also faced tax fraud charges in Spain.

They were both found guilty of tax evasion but avoided being locked up as judges are allowed to waive sentences under two years for first-time offenders.

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