Christmas with the family – for Spain’s old king Juan Carlos this is likely to remain a dream.
Madrid – The old king Juan Carlos, harassed by allegations of corruption, will have to spend Christmas away from his Spanish homeland for the second time in a row.
The investigation against the 83-year-old father of King Felipe VI. (53), contrary to expectations, would not be discontinued soon, reported the Spanish media, citing judicial circles. Attorney General Dolores Delgado signed a decree extending the investigation by six months, it said. The authorities confirmed these reports on Friday upon request. Otherwise the deadline for the investigation would have expired on December 17th. Nonetheless, it is still expected that no charges will be brought.
His two daughters visited him
Juan Carlos has been living in exile in the emirate of Abu Dhabi far away from Ms. Sofía (83) and the rest of the family for almost a year and a half. He had secretly left his home on August 3, 2020 in order – as it was said in a letter published later – to “facilitate” Felipe’s work against the background of the allegations. In Abu Dhabi, according to the media, he has so far only been visited by his daughters Elena (57) and Cristina (56). There are hardly any statements or photos of the man who was head of state of Spain between 1975 and 2014. The royal family does not issue any statements on the situation of Juan Carlos either.
Spanish media had repeatedly reported in recent weeks that Juan Carlos missed Spain and his family more and more and was confident that he would be able to spend Christmas in Madrid. “One thing is now certain, for the time being he cannot return,” commented the royal house expert of the newspaper “La Vanguardia”, Mariángel Alcázar, on Friday. It is said that King Felipe refused to return before the investigation was over.
The Spanish authorities opened a total of three investigations against Juan Carlos. Among other things, it concerns suspected money laundering and tax fraud, alleged bribery payments during the construction of a high-speed rail line in Saudi Arabia, allegedly undeclared donation income and also secret bank accounts abroad. To avert criminal proceedings for tax fraud, Juan Carlos initially paid a good 678,000 euros at the end of 2020, and in February of this year a further 4.4 million euros in tax debts, as his lawyer confirmed. dpa
