MADRID – Former Spanish monarch Juan Carlos I has been in the United Arab Emirates since leaving his country amid a growing financial scandal, the Spanish royal family said on Monday, resolving a two-week mystery and reining in speculation about the ex king’s stay.
The Spanish government and officials of the Royal Household have been embroiled in controversy over the location of Juan Carlos since August 3, when he published a letter to his son, King Felipe VI, saying he was moving outside Spain because of the ‘public repercussions’. of certain episodes of my past private life. ”
At 82, the former king is the target of official investigations in Spain and Switzerland into possible financial crimes.
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Conservative Spanish newspaper ABC had published a photo of Juan Carlos getting off a plane at an airport in Abu Dhabi. But without official confirmation, Spanish media had placed him in places as far away as the Dominican Republic, Portugal, Switzerland or New Zealand.
In this file photo of Sunday, June 2, 2019, former King Juan Carlos of Spain blows during a bullfight at the bullfight in Aranjuez, Madrid, Spain. The Royal Family of Spain said on Monday, August 17, 2020, that Juan Carlos is in the United Arab Emirates, and solved a mystery about his stay that has been wrapped up in Spain since he announced that he left the country amid a growing financial scandal . (AP photo / Andrea Comas, file)
Ending the whirlwind of speculation, a spokesman for the Royal House said Monday that Juan Carlos had asked to surrender that he had traveled to the UAE on August 3.
“That is where he is currently staying,” the official, who was not authorized to be quoted in media reports, told The Associated Press.
The spokesman declined to say if the UAE, a federation of seven diseases on the Arabian Peninsula, would be Juan Carlos’ permanent residence.
UAE authorities have not responded to repeated questions regarding Juan Carlos’ stay in the country.
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Juan Carlos facilitated the transition of Spain in the 1970s, when the heir of the Bourbon dynasty replaced former generation Francisco Franco as head of state. He ruled for almost four decades, while Spain modernized and joined the European Union.
But criticism grew when his luxurious life and corruption scandals accusing members of the royal family offered a stark contrast to the suffering of Spaniards during the global financial crisis.
In 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated the throne that then went to Felipe, who took steps to protect the monarchy from the scandals.
Felipe VI did not speak publicly earlier this month about his father’s departure. On Monday, he and Queen Letizia were scheduled to pay a visit to the Mediterranean island of Ibiza. The royal couple and their two daughters are currently on holiday on a nearby island.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose monarchy-supporting Socialist party is in a coalition government with pro-republic far-left Unidas Podemos (United We Can), has praised the Royal House’s decision to distance itself from the former king.
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The King of Spain has a most ceremonial role. Executive power lies with the elected parliamentary government.
Despite moving outside Spain, Juan Carlos has sued through his lawyer to make himself available to prosecutors in Spain. Their investigation, which is in its early stages, looks at whether the former monarch received millions of dollars in kickbacks from Saudi Arabia during the construction of a high-speed gate there by a Spanish consortium.
A separate Swiss court is seeking millions of euros (dollars) that were allegedly given to Juan Carlos by the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and presumably transformed by Juan Carlos into a former companion.
