More Trouble Ahead For Former King Juan Carlos

The former king of Spain, Juan Carlos I is reported to be under further investigation by the the country´s Prosecutor General, Dolores Delgado.

The announcement was made this week confirming previous media reports.

Juan Carlos is still under investigation from Spain´s Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office for alleged illegal payments and kickbacks stemming from the Saudi Arabian rail contract to build a high speed connection from Medina to Mecca that had been won by a Spanish consortium

The payments, believed to be a “gift” from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, was paid into a Swiss Bank under the name of the Lucum Foundation, a Panamanian foundation whose sole beneficiary is Juan Carlos.

Swiss prosecutors instigated a money laundering investigation, suspecting that this was a commission for the king´s services.

In the latest investigation,Dolores Delgado said that the former king and several of his relatives including his wife Queen Sofia are being investigated over the use of of credit cards that drew funds from opaque sources.

The investigation into the transactions relate to the three years between 2016 and 2018.

Under Spanish law, Juan Carlos cannot be prosecuted for actions during his reign which ended when he abdicated in favour of his son Felipe VI in 2014.

Earlier this year, Felipe renounced his father´s  inheritance and the former king also renounced his €194,000 state allowance.

Following further media speculation into the former king´s financial affairs, the 82 year old Juan Carlos left Spain in much secrecy and resurfaced in the United Arab Emirates where he is believed to be now living.

Juan Carlos reigned for 39 years from 1975 following the death of General Franco and is widely credited with his role in the re-establishment of democracy in Spain which was enthrined in the constitution of 1978 as well as his televised appearance denouncing the attempted military coup of 1981.