Former king Juan Carlos decides to leave Spain amid corruption allegations
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Tuesday
January 31, 2023

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
    • Aviation
    • Bazaar
    • Budget
    • Industry
    • NBR
    • RMG
    • Corporates
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
    • Book Review
    • Brands
    • Earth
    • Explorer
    • Fact Check
    • Family
    • Food
    • Game Reviews
    • Good Practices
    • Habitat
    • Humour
    • In Focus
    • Luxury
    • Mode
    • Panorama
    • Pursuit
    • Wealth
    • Wellbeing
    • Wheels
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • Videos
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • COVID-19
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
  • বাংলা
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023
Former king Juan Carlos decides to leave Spain amid corruption allegations

World+Biz

Reuters
04 August, 2020, 09:00 am
Last modified: 04 August, 2020, 12:45 pm

Related News

  • Spain church machete attack suspect was 25-year-old Moroccan
  • At least one dead, several injured in machete attack at southern Spain churches
  • Thousands march in Spain to demand end of violence against women
  • Spain offers to help develop Bangladeshi tourism
  • France, Germany, Spain agree on moving on with FCAS warplane development

Former king Juan Carlos decides to leave Spain amid corruption allegations

The once-popular, now scandal-ridden, king left Spain before Monday’s announcement, local media said, with no indication of where he may have gone

Reuters
04 August, 2020, 09:00 am
Last modified: 04 August, 2020, 12:45 pm
Former Spanish king, Juan Carlos, leaves after attending the funeral ceremony of Luxembourg's Grand Duke Jean at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg, May 4, 2019/ Reuters
Former Spanish king, Juan Carlos, leaves after attending the funeral ceremony of Luxembourg's Grand Duke Jean at the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Luxembourg, May 4, 2019/ Reuters

Spain's former king Juan Carlos has decided to leave his country, a dramatic exit designed to protect the monarchy after a barrage of corruption allegations surfaced against him.

The once-popular, now scandal-ridden, king left Spain before Monday's announcement, local media said, with no indication of where he may have gone.

The bombshell move stunned Spaniards and left them divided over whether the 82-year-old, who keeps the title of King Emeritus, was right to depart or should have stayed to face justice.

Pressure had been building for weeks on the former king and his son, King Felipe, to take action to shore up the monarchy, after Spanish and Swiss prosecutors started looking into allegations of bribes over a high-speed rail contract.

The palace statement quoted Juan Carlos' letter to Felipe as saying that he wanted to enable him to rule untroubled "amid the public repercussions that certain past events in my private life are generating".

"Guided by my desire to do what is best to serve the Spanish people, its institutions and you as king, I am informing you of my ... decision to leave Spain at this time."

King Felipe thanked Juan Carlos for his decision, underlining "the historic importance that his father's reign represents" for democracy in Spain.

Juan Carlos came to the throne in 1975 after the death of General Francisco Franco and was widely respected for his role in helping guide Spain from dictatorship to democracy.

But his popularity sank in later years due to a series of scandals, prompting him to step down in 2014.

Juan Carlos' lawyer, Javier Sanchez-Junco said in a brief statement that despite his decision to leave, the former king would "remain at the disposal of the prosecutors' office".

Amid much speculation over where he could be, Portuguese TV channel TVI24 and the Correio da Manha tabloid said Juan Carlos was in Cascais, a resort area near Lisbon, where he spent part of his childhood. They did not cite any sources.

Monarchy Is 'Compromised'

Switzerland's La Tribune de Geneve newspaper reported in March that Juan Carlos had received $100 million from the late Saudi King over a high-speed rail contract.

That was followed by a regular drip-feed of allegations in the Spanish media, including that he gave much of the money to a former mistress.

Through Sanchez-Junco, Juan Carlos has repeatedly declined to comment on the corruption allegations. Spanish monarchs have immunity during their reign but Juan Carlos' abdication potentially leaves himself vulnerable to prosecution.

Juan Carlos' departure comes at a difficult time for Spain, hit by one of Europe's worst coronavirus outbreaks at a moment when local politics is tense and polarised.

Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias, of the leftist Podemos party, said Juan Carlos should have stayed in Spain.

"Juan Carlos de Borbon's flight abroad is an act unworthy of a former head of state and it leaves the monarchy in a very compromised position," Iglesias said on his Facebook page.

His party's parliamentary group went further, saying in a statement there was no reason to continue with a monarchy "lacking the minimum ethical values," potentially opening a rift with its government partner, the Socialist Party, which defends the monarchy.

"Pay For It"

Some voters agreed Juan Carlos should not have left.

"If he has done it, he should pay for it and stay," Juan Casado, a teacher from Cordoba, said on a visit to Madrid, referring to the corruption allegations.

Others in Madrid regretted his departure, pointing to his role in Spain's return to democracy.

"This person has done a lot for Spain, with dark and bright moments, of course, but he has done more good than harm," pensioner Pilar Romero said.

Opinion polls have shown that Spaniards are roughly equally split over whether their country should remain a monarchy or become a republic - a step that is impossible under the current constitution, itself very hard to change amid a highly fragmented parliament.

Local media including El Mundo and broadcaster TVE said Juan Carlos had left Spain, with some, including La Vanguardia, saying he had already left on Sunday. The Royal House and government officials declined to comment and Juan Carlos' lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.

The government had repeatedly asked Felipe to take steps to distance himself further from his father after he put an end to his father's palace allowance and renounced his own inheritance in March, following allegations of secret offshore accounts reported to be linked to the Saudi rail contract.

Top News

King Juan Carlos / Spain

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo
    IMF approves Bangladesh's $4.5 billion loan proposal
  • Despite downturn 3 dozen listed firms plan Tk7,500cr investment
    Despite downturn 3 dozen listed firms plan Tk7,500cr investment
  • Mysterious resignation of SIBL chairman, addl MD
    Mysterious resignation of SIBL chairman, addl MD

MOST VIEWED

  • FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Adani Group is seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, January 27, 2023. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo
    Adani's nationalist rebuttal ignores accusations, says Hindenburg
  • Photo: Collected
    Food blogger who cooked and ate great white shark is fined $18,500
  • Malaysia's newly appointed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim reacts as he deliver his speech during a gathering in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia November 24, 2022.Vincent Thian/Pool via REUTERS
    Malaysia PM Anwar tells Goldman to pay up on 1MDB settlement
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attend a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 14, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS
    Putin and Saudi crown prince discuss OPEC+ cooperation to maintain price stability
  • US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers a statement upon arrival at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on January 30, 2023. RONALDO SCHEMIDT/Pool via REUTERS
    Blinken reaffirms two-state solution as he lands in Israel
  • Friends and family mourn next to the body of Rafael Ben Eliyahu who was killed on Friday in a shooting attack in a synagogue by a Palestinian gunman on the outskirts of Jerusalem, at his funeral in Jerusalem, January 29, 2023. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
    Israel and Palestinians risk deeper conflict in a distracted world

Related News

  • Spain church machete attack suspect was 25-year-old Moroccan
  • At least one dead, several injured in machete attack at southern Spain churches
  • Thousands march in Spain to demand end of violence against women
  • Spain offers to help develop Bangladeshi tourism
  • France, Germany, Spain agree on moving on with FCAS warplane development

Features

Photo: Courtesy

The Hawkers: Where minimalism meets motifs

15h | Brands
TBS illustration

Where do Shariah-compliant mutual funds stand in Bangladesh

13h | Panorama
Sketch: TBS

A subsidy war without winners

13h | Panorama
Photo: Collected

Oppo Reno 8T first look revealed!

14h | Brands

More Videos from TBS

two more factories of the country got platinum certificate.

two more factories of the country got platinum certificate.

5h | TBS Today
Iconic villains of Bollywood

Iconic villains of Bollywood

6h | TBS Entertainment
General knowledge "Gravity"

General knowledge "Gravity"

4h | Videos
Will tanks turn the tide for Ukraine?

Will tanks turn the tide for Ukraine?

5h | TBS World

Most Read

1
Picture: Collected
Bangladesh

US Embassy condemns recent incidents of visa fraud

2
Illustration: TBS
Banking

16 banks at risk of capital shortfall if top 3 borrowers default

3
Bapex calls candidates for job test 9 years after advert!
Bangladesh

Bapex calls candidates for job test 9 years after advert!

4
Photo: Collected
Splash

Hansal Mehta responds as Twitter user calls him 'shameless' for making Faraaz

5
A frozen Beyond Burger plant-based patty. Photographer: AKIRA for Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Special

Fake meat was supposed to save the world. It became just another fad

6
Representational Image
Banking

Cash-strapped Islami, Al-Arafah and National turn to Sonali Bank for costly fund

EMAIL US
[email protected]
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2023
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - [email protected]

For advertisement- [email protected]