Spanish Justice will investigate Juan Carlos de Borbón for alleged money laundering

Madrid. The Spanish Supreme Court Prosecutor’s Office asked to open an investigation to clarify the alleged laundering of an illegal multimillion-dollar commission that would have been received by the Spanish King Emeritus, Juan Carlos de Borbón, who was head of state from the death of the dictator Francisco Franco (1975) until he abdicated in favor of his son, in April 2016.

The corruption scheme in which several companies are involved is focused on the award to Spanish construction companies of the high-speed train to Mecca, an operation in which the monarch was an intermediary and facilitator, for which he would have charged up to 100 million euros.

The Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office decided to transfer the case to the Supreme Court, once Juan Carlos, due to his condition as king emeritus, is no longer indictable (as King Felipe VI is), but is still ruled, so depending on the legislation Spanish this type of case is assumed by the high court.

This is a historic step, since for the first time the finances and the alleged crimes of corruption that the emeritus king would have incurred, who throughout his mandate was untouchable, will be investigated, despite the fact that around him the Suspicions for his role in the irregular alienation of public resources, matters in which he also mixed his private life, with scandals due to his extramarital affairs.

In fact, the last of them was key to investigating this plot, once the businesswoman Corinna Larsen, who was known as Princess Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, decided to tell the whole story, both to Swiss justice and to various media, to who also related the numerous threats and coercions that he received after his separation from the King Emeritus.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation focuses on delimiting or ruling out the criminal relevance of the events that occurred after June 2014, at which time Juan Carlos I abdicated and ceased to be protected as head of state.

Until now, the investigation procedures were in the hands of the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office. With the transfer to the highest court, it could be investigated how that money has moved since the abdication.

Among the companies involved is OHL, whose president and founder, Juan Manuel Villar Mir, has several cases open in the Spanish courts and in other countries, including Mexico, when he got a contract with the government of the State of Mexico, then headed by Enrique Peña. Grandson, for the construction of a train line.