Shakira faces eight years behind bars as judge orders trial

The pop superstar, 45, is accused of failing to pay the Spanish government €14.5m (£12.2m)on income earned between 2012 and 2014.

She is accused of lying about where she lived during this period as well as using a complicated offshore corporate structure to avoid the tax.

If she is found guilty, prosecutors are asking for the singer to be jailed for eight years and fined over €23m (£19.2m).

In July, the popstar rejected a plea deal and chose to go to trial. It it believed the deal requested that she admit to avoiding the tax.

The Columbian pop singer “trusts her innocence and chooses to leave the issue in the hands of the law,” PR firm Llorente y Cuenca told Billboard.

The firm also claimed the “Hips Don’t Lie” singer has deposited the amount she is said to owe to the Spanish tax office and has no outstanding tax debts.

Shakira, who has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, claims that she did not live in Spain in the years she has been accused of failing to pay taxes.

However the prosecutor’s document asserts that the star bought a house in Barcelona in 2012, which became the family home for herself, her partner and their son Milan, who was born the following year.