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.
Comments
Post a Comment