Corruption suspected: Spain's old king Juan Carlos is in the Emirates

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Juan Carlos, formerly King of Spain (archive image)

For two weeks it was puzzled: Now it seems clear where the Spanish old king Juan Carlos, who is suspected of corruption, is. The 82-year-old traveled to the United Arab Emirates on August 3 and is still there, the royal family in Madrid announced on Monday. So far, both the "Casa Real" and the Spanish government had remained silent on this issue.

A few days ago, the newspaper "ABC", which is well-informed about the monarchy, assured in the midst of speculation that Juan Carlos had found refuge with befriended sheikhs in Abu Dhabi in the Emirates. He maintains excellent relationships with the Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Said Al Nahjan, and initially moved into accommodation in the Emirates Palace, one of the most expensive hotels in the world, the newspaper reported.

In a letter published by the royal family on August 3 to his son and successor Felipe VI. Juan Carlos had announced that he was moving abroad - because of the financial scandal surrounding alleged bribery payments during the construction of a high-speed rail line in Saudi Arabia. He wanted to "facilitate" Felipe's work. His whereabouts had remained unknown since then. Several major Spanish newspapers initially suspected that Juan Carlos was in the Dominican Republic or Portugal.

The Spanish government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez assured that the "emeritus king" had not fled the judiciary. A lawyer for Juan Carlos said that his client would be available to the Spanish judiciary even after his departure. Pablo Iglesias from the coalition junior partner Unidas Podemos, on the other hand, spoke of an "unworthy escape".

The scandal concerns alleged bribery payments during the construction of a high-speed rail line in Saudi Arabia by a Spanish consortium. Juan Carlos is said to have collected 100 million US dollars from the Saudis in 2008 for the mediation. At that time he still enjoyed immunity as a monarch. In connection with the payment, however, he is now suspected of tax evasion and money laundering after his abdication in June 2014. In June the Madrid Supreme Court opened an investigation.

ala / dpa / AFP