Suspected of corruption, King Emeritus Juan Carlos I decides to leave Spain.
The emeritus king, who is under investigation for suspected corruption involving US$100 million, announced his decision to leave Spain in a letter addressed to his son, the current King Felipe VI.
Radio France International - The Spanish emeritus king Juan Carlos I, linked to a joint investigation by the Swiss prosecutor's office and the Spanish justice system into corruption, announced his decision to leave Spain in a letter addressed to his son, the current king Felipe VI. The letter was released by the Royal Household on Monday (3).
"Your Majesty, dear Felipe, with the same desire to serve Spain that inspired my reign and in view of the public repercussions that certain past events in my private life are generating (...) I am communicating my considered decision to move out of Spain," wrote the sovereign.
Juan Carlos, 82, indicates in his letter that he is making this decision "to facilitate" the exercise of the current monarch's duties with "the tranquility and peace that his great responsibility demands."
Suspected corruption involving $100 million.
Six years after his abdication, the emeritus king has placed the Spanish monarchy in a complicated situation. Swiss prosecutors and Spanish authorities are investigating the origin of $100 million (more than R$500 million). There is a suspicion that Juan Carlos secretly received this sum from Saudi Arabia in a Swiss bank account in 2008.
The king's problems arose from records left by his former lover Corina Larsen regarding money he received through a foundation in Swiss bank accounts.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, the emeritus king is not currently under investigation by the Swiss justice system, although judicial sources do not rule out that possibility in the future.
However, in Spain, in June, the Attorney General of the State, Dolores Delgado, decided that the Supreme Court prosecutor's office should determine whether there is sufficient evidence that the former head of state may have committed any crimes since leaving office. The crimes would include money laundering and tax evasion.
Despite the announcement of his departure from the country, the emeritus king's lawyer, Javier Sánchez-Junco, issued a statement assuring that his client "remains at the disposal" of the Justice system.
Son thanks you for the decision.
In response to Juan Carlos' announcement, King Felipe conveyed to his father "his sincere respect and gratitude for his decision," according to a statement from the Royal Household.
The royal statement concludes with a paragraph in which the king emphasizes "the historical importance of his father's reign, as a legacy and political and institutional work of service to Spain and democracy; and at the same time he wishes to reaffirm the principles and values on which it is based, within the framework of our Constitution and the rest of the legal system."