The musical star appears domiciled in the Bahamas and her lawyer defends the transparency of all her operations, claiming that because she is an international artist she has had different residences throughout her life.
"The Maltese holding company Tournesol Limited complies with all the legal requirements to operate as such, all the information corresponding to this entity is public and transparent." This is the resounding response of Ezequiel Camerini, one of the lawyers of the singer Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, the couple of FC Barcelona footballer Gerard Piqué, when asked about the entity that the singer has managed since 2007 and in which the Colombian figure with fiscal domicile in the Bahamas.
The lawyer, who admits the residence of Shakira in Barcelona, justifies the domicile in a tax haven of the singer, since "she as an international artist has had different residences throughout her professional life, being always in full compliance with the laws of all the jurisdictions in which he resides."
The information that uncovers Shakira's name behind the Maltese entity Tournesol Limited is part of the global Paradise Papers research, based on the analysis of 13.4 million documents from two offshore service providers in Bermuda and Singapore and 19 mercantile registers of opaque jurisdictions.
The leak was obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which shared it with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) to direct the work that is being published in 96 media around the world, including The New York Times, The Guardian , Le Monde and El Confidencial and La Sexta exclusively for Spain.
The 31.6 million euros in Malta and Luxembourg
The truth is that Shakira moved all his rights between two companies owned by Luxembourg and Malta. Tournesol Limited, the Maltese company of the Colombian singer, received the rights of "musical assets, intellectual rights and trademarks" in July 2009. The company increased its capital by one euro (its capital is worth € 3,020,001) but with an associated issuance premium of € 31,637,050 (more than 35 million dollars), "corresponding to the value of its musical assets, rights intellectuals and brands ".
Malta and Luxembourg are countries where thousands and thousands of companies are registered, but where they do not have any activity, which is typical of opaque jurisdictions that favor tax avoidance and evasion.
The rights had been valued at 31,637,050 euros (more than 35 million dollars) by the American firm Gelfand, Rennert and Feldman LLP. Tournesol Limited owns a company in Luxembourg, ACE Entertainment S.àr.l. which is the one that manages its musical assets and rights.
In Luxembourg, taxation is very low. Shakira appears in the mercantile notes until at least 2016 and is the "sole shareholder" of the Maltese company. The creation of the company coincides with a good professional moment of the singer.
The organization was created in December 2007, in the middle of the tour 'Oral Fixation', after its fifth album 'Oral Fixation Vol. 2' (2005). In 2009, three months after moving her "musical assets, intellectual rights and brands" to Malta, Shakira released her sixth studio album, 'Loba'.
The keys of the agreement without interests
The more than 35 million dollars come from an 'interest-free loan agreement' between ACE Entertainment and Tournesol Limited. This capital increase was carried out through a share issue premium, a way to increase the value of a company by offsetting the value of previous shares with new ones of greater value. In this case, they added an action with a value of 1 euro but containing an associated premium for the value of those 31 million euros. The document explaining the operation is issued by the Maltese consulting firm Busutlil & Micollef.
Previously, in 2008, the company had a capital of 20,000 euros to 3,000,000 thanks to a pending payment that the singer had with another Dutch company, Geneurope Holding BV, which had at that time its trademark rights, such and as we have been able to verify in this medium for the documentation that is in our possession.
The tax policy of the Netherlands facilitates that its farm reaches secret agreements with multinationals and companies to establish low taxation regimes.
An offshore relationship with Antonio de la Rúa
The name of the Maltese society of Shakira had already been published in the British press in 2013. It even appears in the suit filed by his former partner, the Argentine businessman Antonio de la Rúa, in which he demanded the singer 100 million dollars for the benefits of their joint ventures.
The Tournesol documents specify that she is the sole shareholder, although De la Rúa appears as director between 2008 and 2011. Precisely it was 2011 the year in which the couple finalized their sentimental and professional relationship. After the departure of De la Rúa, Ezequiel A. Camerini, the aforementioned Shakira's lawyer, joined the company as director. The same happens ACE Entertainment S.à.rl, according to the documents of the registry of Luxembourg.
On the other hand, and on several occasions, another of the directors of the company requests an extension of the period to present accounts, due to the fact that "more than 90% of the company's interests were outside of Malta". They do this from 2009 to 2014, both inclusive. Later on July 8, 2014, Tournesol reduced its capital again, canceling the 31 million loan that its subsidiary had granted it. In the meantime, they change at least twice from headquarters, but always within Malta.
It should be recalled that Antonio de la Rúa already appeared in the leaked Bahamas Leaks, along with his brother and other Argentine partners, although he said that he had lived in the Bahamas and had maintained business. The information was published in La Nación.
By the way, Shakira's lawyer emphasizes the extraordinary geographical mobility of the singer and reviews the address of the country in the Bahamas where she lived with her ex-partner Antonio de la Rúa.
"Our client has been a resident of the Bahamas since 2004 and since that date maintains a home in that country."
"Our client has been a resident in the Bahamas since 2004 and since then maintains a home in that country." During the following years, Shakira's professional obligations forced him to travel continuously and stay most of the time in different countries. .
Among them, the world tour "Sale el Sol" stands out, with 110 concerts around the world, of which 62 were in 2011. "His lawyer adds that" later, Shakira stayed long periods in the United States, where he participated in the show The Voice".