Ex-Spanish King makes himself scarce

The former monarch, Juan Carlos, has told son, Felipe VI, of his "well-considered decision" to move away from Spain after Swiss and Spanish prosecutors opened an investigation into allegations of financial irregularities. In a letter to his son released by the Royal Household, Juan Carlos writes that due to the “public impact” of the investigation, he has decided to leave Spain in order to enable Felipe VI to act as head of state from a place of “peace and tranquility.”
Spanish royal family: Spain’s emeritus king Juan Carlos I to leave country amid tax haven scandal | News | EL PAIS in English

"Probes are under way in Switzerland and Spain where media regularly publish details of the murky management of funds allegedly paid to the former head of state by Saudi Arabia."
https://www.thelocal.es/20200804/spains-ex-king-juan-carlos-heads-for-exile-under-corruption-cloud

The Saud Family seem to have their fingerprints all over this story. That is one clan with more money to spend on furthering their interests with all the influence and armaments money can buy. All they need is for enough greedy people willing to do their bidding. It appears the former king accepted $100,000,000 to help secure a rail contract for the Saudis linking the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

The question now is where the disgraced monarch has scurried off to. The Spanish Court is saying nothing of his whereabouts but the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia is saying he has gone next door to Portugal on his way to the Dominican Republic. For sure he will spend his last days in exile. The current king will see to this. Meanwhile, King Felipe must be dreading what more is to come as the investigation of his father continues.
El rey Juan Carlos se instala en Republica Dominicana


Juan Carlos gone to ground

Jean-s said:

The former monarch, Juan Carlos, has told son, Felipe VI, of his "well-considered decision" to move away from Spain after Swiss and Spanish prosecutors opened an investigation into allegations of financial irregularities. In a letter to his son released by the Royal Household, Juan Carlos writes that due to the “public impact” of the investigation, he has decided to leave Spain in order to enable Felipe VI to act as head of state from a place of “peace and tranquility.”
Spanish royal family: Spain’s emeritus king Juan Carlos I to leave country amid tax haven scandal | News | EL PAIS in English

"Probes are under way in Switzerland and Spain where media regularly publish details of the murky management of funds allegedly paid to the former head of state by Saudi Arabia."
https://www.thelocal.es/20200804/spains-ex-king-juan-carlos-heads-for-exile-under-corruption-cloud

The Saud Family seem to have their fingerprints all over this story. That is one clan with more money to spend on furthering their interests with all the influence and armaments money can buy. All they need is for enough greedy people willing to do their bidding. It appears the former king accepted $100,000,000 to help secure a rail contract for the Saudis linking the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

The question now is where the disgraced monarch has scurried off to. The Spanish Court is saying nothing of his whereabouts but the Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia is saying he has gone next door to Portugal on his way to the Dominican Republic. For sure he will spend his last days in exile. The current king will see to this. Meanwhile, King Felipe must be dreading what more is to come as the investigation of his father continues.
El rey Juan Carlos se instala en Republica Dominicana

Juan Carlos gone to ground

Click to expand...

I looked at your article and cannot find the link to the King of Spain and a Saudi rail line. Is it perhaps a Spanish company that is building the rail line?

Rexedgar said:

I looked at your article and cannot find the link to the King of Spain and a Saudi rail line. Is it perhaps a Spanish company that is building the rail line?

Click to expand...

The trains are Spanish made. Also Renfe, the Spanish rail operator is part of the running of the system.

Sent from my Honor 8X

PeteEU said:

The trains are Spanish made. Also Renfe, the Spanish rail operator is part of the running of the system.

Sent from my Honor 8X

Click to expand...

Thanks. Why would the king have the leverage for an incoming bribe if the contract benefits a Spanish company?

Rexedgar said:

Thanks. Why would the king have the leverage for an incoming bribe if the contract benefits a Spanish company?

Click to expand...

Well I still can't get my head around it. If anything it should be the Spanish bribing the Saudis to get the contract, and yet it is the other way around. Does not make much sense.

So dunno why the Saudis would give him the money...makes no sense.

Sent from my Honor 8X

Rexedgar said:

I looked at your article and cannot find the link to the King of Spain and a Saudi rail line. Is it perhaps a Spanish company that is building the rail line?

Click to expand...

Yes, it involved a Spanish engineering company with which the former monarch was acting as a go-between. Read again the link I provided from The Local. "An inquiry opened in Spain in September 2018 following the publication of records attributed to German businesswoman Corinna Larsen, allegedly a former mistress of Juan Carlos. She claimed he had received a commission when a consortium of Spanish companies were awarded a high-speed railway contract to link the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia."
https://www.thelocal.es/20200804/spains-ex-king-juan-carlos-heads-for-exile-under-corruption-cloud

PeteEU said:

Well I still can't get my head around it. If anything it should be the Spanish bribing the Saudis to get the contract, and yet it is the other way around. Does not make much sense.

So dunno why the Saudis would give him the money...makes no sense.

Sent from my Honor 8X

Click to expand...

The Saud Family wanted the Spanish to build the high-speed rail link and apparently were lobbying Juan Carlos to put a word in for them. The Spanish have invested much money in upgrading their domestic high-speed rail links between various cities, cutting down travel time. Dealing with the Saudis is a controversial move for any European Union enterprise because of the lack of human rights in the Arab country. "On 26 October 2011, at the Saudi Railways Organization announced that the Saudi-Spanish consortium Al‑Shoula Group, which includes Talgo, Renfe, Adif, Copasa, Imathia, Consultrans, Ineco, Cobra, Indra, Dimetronic, Inabensa, OHL, AL-Shoula and Al-Rosan, had been chosen for the contract. Talgo will supply 35 Talgo 350 trains similar to 102/112 series used on Spanish high-speed lines for EUR 1,257 billion (1,600 with maintenance) and an option for 23 more for 800 million. They differ from the 112 series with 13 cars to 417 seats Renfe and Adif will operate the trains and manage the line for 12 years. The project was originally planned to open in 2012, taking six years longer to complete than anticipated. The total contract value is EUR 6.736 billion (approximately US$9.4 billion)"
Haramain high-speed railway - Wikipedia
This is a lot of money and well worth $100,000,000 for Juan Carlos to secure it.

Rexedgar said:

Thanks. Why would the king have the leverage for an incoming bribe if the contract benefits a Spanish company?

Click to expand...

Juan Carlos has been a significant figure in Spain's recent history and I am not sure that the $100,000,000 is technically a bribe. It might be above board but the information was not public and this secrecy might get the former monarch in trouble.

Jean-s said:

Juan Carlos has been a significant figure in Spain's recent history and I am not sure that the $100,000,000 is technically a bribe. It might be above board but the information was not public and this secrecy might get the former monarch in trouble.

Click to expand...

It's more the tax evasion that will get him in trouble. And it was not 100 million but 10 million.

And it still makes no sense that they Saudis paid him...the Spanish companies were bidding anyways as they were at the time one of 3 or so companies world wide with the expertise.

I think it is the tax evasion aspect and not so much that he got a commission. Had the money been taxed and not stowed away in Switzerland, then he would have had less hassle.



Sent from my Honor 8X

PeteEU said:

It's more the tax evasion that will get him in trouble. And it was not 100 million but 10 million.

And it still makes no sense that they Saudis paid him...the Spanish companies were bidding anyways as they were at the time one of 3 or so companies world wide with the expertise.

I think it is the tax evasion aspect and not so much that he got a commission. Had the money been taxed and not stowed away in Switzerland, then he would have had less hassle.



Sent from my Honor 8X

Click to expand...

"The suspicions focus on $100 million (85 million euros) alleged to have been paid secretly into a Swiss bank account in 2008."
https://www.thelocal.es/20200804/spains-ex-king-juan-carlos-heads-for-exile-under-corruption-cloud

I have no trouble understanding that the Saudis wanted the contract and were willing to pay for influence. Who knows what the former monarch was expected to do with the Spanish companies. It might be that he was asking for favorable terms from the Spanish enterprises on account of the benefits to the Spanish economy.

It is an ongoing investigation and some of our questions will very soon be answered. So many competing companies like to keep their negotiations secret so as not to give competitors an advantage. It might be a tax violation. We shall see. The current King Felipe must be worried it will all reflect badly on his reign.

Jean-s said:

"The suspicions focus on $100 million (85 million euros) alleged to have been paid secretly into a Swiss bank account in 2008."
https://www.thelocal.es/20200804/spains-ex-king-juan-carlos-heads-for-exile-under-corruption-cloud

I have no trouble understanding that the Saudis wanted the contract and were willing to pay for influence.

Click to expand...

Eh? It was the Saudis who were giving out the contract.... why should they pay for influence?

Jean-s said:

The Saud Family wanted the Spanish to build the high-speed rail link and apparently were lobbying Juan Carlos to put a word in for them. The Spanish have invested much money in upgrading their domestic high-speed rail links between various cities, cutting down travel time. Dealing with the Saudis is a controversial move for any European Union enterprise because of the lack of human rights in the Arab country. "On 26 October 2011, at the Saudi Railways Organization announced that the Saudi-Spanish consortium Al‑Shoula Group, which includes Talgo, Renfe, Adif, Copasa, Imathia, Consultrans, Ineco, Cobra, Indra, Dimetronic, Inabensa, OHL, AL-Shoula and Al-Rosan, had been chosen for the contract. Talgo will supply 35 Talgo 350 trains similar to 102/112 series used on Spanish high-speed lines for EUR 1,257 billion (1,600 with maintenance) and an option for 23 more for 800 million. They differ from the 112 series with 13 cars to 417 seats Renfe and Adif will operate the trains and manage the line for 12 years. The project was originally planned to open in 2012, taking six years longer to complete than anticipated. The total contract value is EUR 6.736 billion (approximately US$9.4 billion)"
Haramain high-speed railway - Wikipedia
This is a lot of money and well worth $100,000,000 for Juan Carlos to secure it.

Click to expand...

Again so what? If the Saudis wanted the Spanish company to build the railway, then they could just award the job to them. No need to bribe anyone. As for the Saudi move being controversial for EU businesses.. horse****. Maybe now.. MAYBE, but a decade plus ago hell no.

PeteEU said:

Eh? It was the Saudis who were giving out the contract.... why should they pay for influence?

Click to expand...

I'm not a businessman but I think if people want a company to build them a railroad they would like it for a price lowered because of lobbying by a remunerated agent of influence.

PeteEU said:

Again so what? If the Saudis wanted the Spanish company to build the railway, then they could just award the job to them. No need to bribe anyone. As for the Saudi move being controversial for EU businesses.. horse****. Maybe now.. MAYBE, but a decade plus ago hell no.

Click to expand...

You will not hear from me again.

Jean-s said:

You will not hear from me again.

Click to expand...

Sorry if you feel offended, but I have lived in Saudi Arabia for a long time and everyone wants to do business there since it is good money. Now politically it might be an issue, but that does not stop private business for doing business. If there are ever sanctions or similar, then it will change, but right now and back then.. 10 years ago, no way. At worst, companies would not advertise that they were doing business in Saudi Arabia, just as many companies dont advertise business with Iran or other countries.

Spanish court takes over new investigation of ex-king Juan Carlos I
Spanish Supreme Court prosecutors have taken over a new investigation into the financial activities of ex-King Juan Carlos, who recently left Spain to live in an unspecified country following the opening of probes against him in Spain and Switzerland.
The State Prosecutor's office Tuesday confirmed the court had taken charge of a new investigation after Spanish online daily elDiario.es reported that anti-corruption prosecutors were probing the alleged use by the former king, ex-Queen Sofia and some family members of credit cards linked to foreign accounts not in their names.
https://www.euronews.com/2020/11/03...er-new-investigation-of-ex-king-juan-carlos-i

What appears to be at issue is not that the former Spanish king was getting millions of euros for his services to Saudi Arabia but that the money was deposited in a foreign bank with access by using debit cards in another person's name with the intent of hiding the money from Spanish authorities.

Spain’s former king pays €678,393 in tax debt to avoid legal proceedings
Juan Carlos I is embroiled in two other court probes into alleged financial wrongdoing, but hopes that they will be dropped because of his immunity prior to his 2014 abdication
Spain’s emeritus king, Juan Carlos I, has paid €678,393 to tax authorities to settle debt on previously undisclosed income, according to a press release made public on Wednesday by the lawyers representing him.
The move seeks to avoid legal proceedings against the father of King Felipe VI, who took the throne in 2014 following Juan Carlos’s abdication. Prosecutors at the Supreme Court had been investigating the former monarch’s alleged use of credit cards drawing from funds made available by a personal friend, a Mexican businessman named Allen Sanginés-Krause.
https://english.elpais.com/spanish_...3-in-tax-debt-to-avoid-legal-proceedings.html

So, it might all be a storm in a teacup. Just pay your taxes and all will be fine and the Spanish ex-king can be home for Christmas. !Feliz Navidad!