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Tag: tax fraud

  • Alleged Tax Fraud: Shakira faces jail term in Spain

    Alleged Tax Fraud: Shakira faces jail term in Spain

    Grammy Award winning  Colombian music sensation, Shakira is facing jail terms in Barcelona, Spain over alleged tax fraud.

    The 46-year old singer is being accused of defrauding the Spanish state of 14.5 million euros ($15.7 million) in income earned between 2012 and 2014.

    Shakira denies the charges, maintaining that she only moved to Spain full-time in 2015.

    According to Spanish authorities, she spent more than half of that period in Spain and should have paid taxes in the country, claiming that Shakira utilized a network of companies based in tax havens to avoid paying taxes in Spain.

    The singer’s lawyer argues that until 2014, she led a “nomadic life,” earning most of her income from international tours, stating that she permanently moved to Barcelona just before the birth of her second son in January 2015.

    Shakira also shed more light on the allegations in an interview she had with Elle magazine in 2022, Shakira asserted,

    “I’ve paid everything they claimed I owed, even before they filed a lawsuit. So, as of today, I owe zero to them.”

    Shakira’s trial, scheduled to run until December 14, commenced today at a Barcelona court. The court is set to hear from nearly 120 witnesses.

    The prosecution seeks a jail term of eight years and two months, along with a fine of nearly 24 million euros ($24 million) for the singer.

    While Shakira is expected to testify during the opening session, she may request permission to be absent from the remaining hearings.

    The trial is anticipated to shed light on details of her private life, with Spanish prosecutors conducting a meticulous investigation, including interviews with neighbours, tracking social media activity, and examining payments at local establishments.

    The global music icon’s financial affairs were previously brought into the spotlight in the “Pandora Papers” leak in October 2021, revealing details related to her residence in the Bahamas.

    Shakira’s trial follows Spain’s crackdown on tax evasion by celebrities, including football stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

    The outcome of this high-profile case will be closely watched, given the recent legal actions against prominent figures for similar financial matters in the country.

  • EFCC wades in as Kashamu exposes ‘Baba Ijebu’ on alleged N5bn tax fraud

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has launched an investigation into the activities of the billionaire business mogul, Kessington Adebutu, popularly known as Baba Ijebu, for alleged tax fraud and economic sabotage.

    Reports according to Premium Times has it that detectives from the Commission’s office in Lagos on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 arrested the son of the gambling mogul, Segun Adebutu for questioning.

    The EFCC officials, according to the online platform, said Adebutu’s business activities became a subject of their suspicion following a petition from another betting company, Western Lotto, operated by a former Senator from Ogun East Senatorial District, Buruji Kashamu.

    The online platform quoted EFCC sources as saying that they have identified N5 billion revenue that should have been remitted to the federal government but was allegedly kept aside by the company.

    The probe might be expanded to include other betting companies and investigate claims of sharp practices and how some firms allegedly withhold funds from winning customers.

    The EFCC has not filed any charges against Premier Lotto.

  • Tax Fraud: FIRS sets N750bn target from deviant accounting firms, others

    Sustained efforts by the Federal Government to boost revenue generation on Tuesday got a boost as Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) unveiled plans to generate N750 billion from erring Accounting firms and others with N1 billion turnover and above.
    Chairman of FIRS Mr Babatunde Fowler who disclosed this during the budget defence of key revenue generating agencies held at the instance of House Committee on Finance chaired by Hon.Ibrahim Babangida, explained that the Service achieved 78.86% or N5.320 trillion out of its revenue target of N6.747 trillion for the 2018 fiscal year.
    The Service’s initiative tagged: ‘Bank Accounts substitution exercise’, was aimed at using banking information of non-compliant tax
    payers with N1 billion and above turnover into the tax net. So far, the sum of N23.25 billion has been recovered by the Service from undisclosed firms, while efforts are being intensified to cover those with turnover of N100 million and above.
    Our Correspondent further gathered that Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has also hunting for some law firms which have failed to comply with extant financial regulations.
    According to the report obtained from FIRS, the joint task set up to actualize the recovery: FIRS/EFCC Joint Task Force, was introduced in
    2018 to enhance the fight against tax related fraud. As at December 2018, a total of N6.94 billion and $278,430 had been recovered by the JTF. This and other such initiatives are continuous and will be continuous going forward.
    In his presentation, Fowler disclosed that additional sums of N28.51 billion and $77.83 million has been recovered through regular enforcement from various tax offices, tax audit and investigation assessments.
    He informed that through the recently introduced Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), the Service through the implementation of Executive Order 004, recovered the sum of N53.04 billion at federal level out of N92.7 billion liability declared as at December 2018, adding that the agency is vigorously pursuing the balance of N39.68 billion from indebted tax payers.
    Similarly, FIRS has recovered revenue worth N4.3 billion accruing from property owners in Abuja and Lagos state, just as it unveiled plans to extend the initiatve to other parts of the country.
    “In this regard, Oyo and Kaduna states have commenced. It is important to note that this is not a property tax but rather the use of the
    provisions of the law to bring into the tax net, companies that own properties but failed to file necessary tax returns and pay appropriate taxes due.
    Through its Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI) for the year 2018 aimed at securing some quick wins for short and medium terms
    period, FIRS realized the sum of N212.79 billion through National Tax Audit and Pioneer Audit, sequel to improvements to the audit process and resultant increased efficiency.
    According to the FIRS, following the expiration of the Pioneer Audit granted several companies, we have identified 190 companies in this
    category and have commenced post Pioneer Audit of 129 out of the identified companies. We expect to conclude the process before the end of 2019, the FIRS chairman told the lawmakers.
    In its quest to improve of the collection process through the deployment of technology, FIRS is expected to go live in 2019 with hospitality, branded superstores, eCommerce, professional service and maritime sectors, to complement the achievements recorded in Banking and Cable TV sectors which have gone live in 2018.
    Through the State Offices of Accountants General Platform (SAG) which is an automated system for the deduction at source and remittance of Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax (WHT) from State Governments’ contract payments, 23 states remitted total sum of N14.99 billion as at December 2018, and expected of bringing on board other states in 2019.

  • Cristiano Ronaldo facing £13m tax fraud charge

    Spain’s prosecutor’s office in Madrid said on Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit against soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo for allegedly defrauding Spanish authorities of 14.7 million euros between 2011 and 2014.

    In a statement, the prosecutor’s office said Ronaldo had knowingly used a “business structure” created in 2010 to hide his income in Spain from his image rights.

    The lawsuit is based on a report sent to the prosecutor’s office from Spain’s tax agency.

    The Portuguese star became a Spanish tax resident in January 2010 and in November 2011, and opted to follow the Spanish tax regime that applies to foreigners working in Spain.

    Prosecutors said they have until the end of June to decide whether to charge the Real Madrid star, and if he was subsequently found guilty by a court, he would face a prison sentence of at least 15 months, UK’s Telegraph reports.

    Justice experts however maintain that is unlikely Ronaldo would go to jail as a first-time offender.