A Geneva judge rejected attempts by Antonio de la Rua to win control of a $50-million bank account held by the Colombian-born megastar's offshore company.
Shakira's lawyer Marc Bonnant told AFP that Geneva's civil court threw out de la Rua's case and ordered him to pay some 20,000 Swiss francs ($20,700) in legal costs.
"The judge's decision in this matter was very strict," said Bonnant, one of the biggest names in the Swiss legal field, celebrating that la Rua's "shameful, parasite-like attempts were rejected hands down".
The ruling, issued last month, has not been published.
Shakira and de la Rua — son of a former president of Argentina — split in 2010 after a decade together but reportedly remained friends.
Their ties soured, however, as de la Rua sought what he charges is his due for deploying his marketing and management skills to craft Shakira's public persona and turn her into an international star.
In November last year he filed a $100-million lawsuit against Shakira in the United States.
The Geneva case centred on de la Rua's claim that he had joint rights to Shakira's company, and that its bank account should therefore be seized, but Bonnant said the court found no evidence to prove that.
In addition, he said, Shakira's team provided pre-nuptial agreements between the couple which barred de la Rua from a share of her wealth.
Swiss media reports have said that the account in a swish Geneva bank was worth $50 million and, while declining to confirm the exact figure, Bonnant said the sum was accurate.
De la Rua's lawyer My-Linh Schifferli told AFP that her client had opted not to appeal, but that she saw the court ruling as deeply wrongheaded.
"It was made via a summary procedure, without a hearing involving the parties," she said.
"It's based essentially on the fact that no written company contract existed between the two parties and on old prenuptial agreements which foresaw a ring-fencing of property," she added.
Despite losing his case in Geneva, de la Rua is unbowed, Schifferli underlined.
"This decision in no way prejudices the proceedings on merit, nor any possible financial claims Mr. de la Rua may have against Shakira for his activities in the affairs of Shakira," she explained.
SHAKIRA
Shakira’s ex-pal fails to gain her Swiss cash
The ex-boyfriend of global pop star Shakira has failed in a bid to get a slice of tens of millions of dollars in a Swiss bank account, in the latest chapter of the former couple's legal battle, lawyers said Monday.
MUSIC
Shakira reveals losing voice was ‘darkest moment’ of her life
The Barcelona-based Colombian superstar Shakira says temporarily losing her voice two years ago was "the darkest moment" of her life, and which affected her "deeply".
In November 2017 the three-time Grammy winner was forced to postpone her hip-shaking “El Dorado World Tour” for seven months after suffering a hemorrhage on her right vocal cord.
“It affected me deeply, there is a before and after,” the 42-year-old said during an interview with AFP late on Monday in Barcelona, where she lives with Spanish footballer Gerard Pique and their two young sons.
“You take many things for granted when you have them… In the case of my voice, it is something that is so inherent in my nature, it is my identity,” she added in the interview at a Barcelona hotel.
“I always thought that one day I would lose many things, one day you lose your youth, you lose your beauty, you even lose friends, there are people who come and go… but I never thought my voice was something that could disappear.
'A miracle'
“When that doubt arose, when I did not know if I could sing again, it was the darkest moment of my life,” she added.
In what she describes as “a miracle”, Shakira recovered her voice naturally, without needing to undergo surgery as recommended by doctors and was finally able to carry out her tour in 2018.
A documentary about the tour, which encompassed over two decades of hits and was based on two shows she gave in Los Angeles, will open in around 60 countries from November 13th.
“It is one of the most important tours of my life for what it means, for the different obstacles that I had to overcome,” Shakira said.
With her mix of Latin and Arabic rhythms and rock influence, Shakira is one of the biggest stars from Latin America, scoring major global hits with songs such as “Hips don't Lie” and “Whenever, Whenever”.
She was picked to perform alongside pop star Jennifer Lopez at the halftime show of the Super Bowl at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on February 2, 2020 -which happens to be Shakira's birthday.
“We have a lot of ideas, it is hard to do them all in the short amount of time which we have. But we will try to take advantage of it as much as possible, especially the opportunity to represent Latinos,” Shakira said.
The National Football League's Super Bowl championship final is the biggest annual event on US television. The halftime show typically features some of the world's best-known performers. Last year's show drew 98.2 million viewers.
By AFP's Daniel Bosque
READ ALSO: Why Shakira's Spanish accent is making Colombians cringe
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