Spain's scandal-hit former king Juan Carlos to go into exile
The 82-year-old says he is moving abroad to help son ‘exercise his responsibilities’ as king
Sam Jones in Madrid
@swajones
Mon 3 Aug 2020 18.09 BSTFirst published on Mon 3 Aug 2020 18.07 BST
Spain’s former king Juan Carlos is to leave the country and go into exile abroad following a series of damaging allegations about his financial arrangements that have harmed the reputation of the monarchy and embarrassed his son, King Felipe.
In March Felipe stripped Juan Carlos of his annual stipend and renounced his own personal inheritance from his father after reports that he was in line to receive millions of euros from a secret offshore fund with ties to Saudi Arabia.
Three months later, Spain’s supreme court launched an investigation into the former king’s role in a deal in which a Spanish consortium landed a €6.7bn (£5.9bn) contract to build a high-speed rail line between the Saudi cities of Medina and Mecca.
On Monday afternoon the royal house published a letter sent by Juan Carlos to his son saying he would “move away from Spain” in the wake of the “public repercussions that certain past events in my private life are causing”.
The 82-year-old king emeritus, as he is now known in Spain, said he had taken the decision to leave the royal palace and the country to help Felipe “exercise his responsibilities” as king.
Juan Carlos added: “This is a very emotional decision, but one I take with great serenity. I have been king of Spain for almost 40 years and throughout them all I have always wanted what is best for Spain and the crown.”
The letter did not mention where the former king would go, nor when exactly he would leave Spain.
A Spanish government source said it “respected” the decision, adding the move showed “the transparency that has always guided King Felipe since he became head of state”.
The royal house said Felipe had expressed its “gratitude and respect” for the decision. It also said the current king was keen to stress “the historical importance of his father’s reign” and his service to Spain and to democracy.
Juan Carlos played a pivotal role in restoring democracy to Spain following the death of General Francisco Franco in 1975, not least when he stood firm in the face of an attempted military coup in 1981.
But in recent years the revelations about his private life and financial affairs have tarnished what was once seen as one of Europe’s model monarchies.
Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of Felipe six years ago after a series of scandals including over a controversial elephant-hunting trip to Botswana as Spain was devastated by the financial crisis.
Felipe’s decision to cancel his father’s stipend and forego his personal inheritance was viewed as proof of his desire to take firm action and distance himself from the scandals.
Spain’s Socialist-led coalition government has rejected calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the king’s finances, but it too has signalled its distance from Juan Carlos.
“It’s obvious that collectively Spaniards are hearing some unsettling reports that disturb all of us, and which disturb me too,” the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said in July.
“But I think there are some things worth mentioning in all this. First, that there are some media that aren’t looking the other way – on the contrary, they’re reporting all this. Second, there’s a justice system that’s taking action. Third – and this is something I’m grateful for – the royal house itself had distanced itself following these disturbing reports.”
Sánchez also said the 1978 constitution – under which “the person of the king is inviolable and shall not be held accountable” – needed “to evolve in accordance with the standards and political conduct that society demands”.
Swiss prosecutors are looking into a number of accounts held in the country by the former monarch and his alleged associates. It is alleged in documents from the Swiss prosecutors that Juan Carlos received a $100m “donation” from the king of Saudi Arabia that he put in an offshore account in 2008. Four years later he allegedly gifted €65m from the account to his former lover Corinna Larsen.
Juan Carlos has said he never told his son he was set to benefit from two offshore funds, but he has made no further comment on the allegations.
Allegations over offshore funds swirl around Spain's former king
Questions over Juan Carlos’s finances are having an ‘unprecedented impact’ on the country’s monarchy
Sam Jones and Giles Tremlett in Madrid
Wed 15 Jul 2020 05.00 BSTLast modified on Wed 15 Jul 2020 05.01 BST
Damaging allegations over the financial arrangements of Spain’s former king Juan Carlos have placed the royal family under unprecedented scrutiny but are unlikely to result in current or futures monarchs losing their constitutional immunity, according to legal experts.
Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of his son, Felipe, six years ago, renouncing the throne after a series of damaging scandals including in a controversial elephant-hunting trip to Botswana as Spain was devastated by the financial crisis.
But allegations of impropriety have continued to follow the former monarch and have hobbled King Felipe’s efforts to move the monarchy out of his father’s shadow.
Recent reports in the British, Swiss and Spanish press have increased the pressure on the royal family. In March, Felipe stripped Juan Carlos of his annual stipend and renounced his personal inheritance from his father following reports that he was in line to receive millions of euros from a secret offshore fund with ties to Saudi Arabia.
Last month, Spain’s supreme court launched an investigation into the role the former king played in a deal in which a Spanish consortium landed a €6.7bn (£5.9bn) contract to build a high-speed rail line between the Saudi cities Medina and Mecca.
The inquiry is intended to “define or discard the criminal relevance of events that occurred after June 2014”, when Juan Carlos abdicated and ceased to enjoy constitutional immunity from prosecution.
Meanwhile, Swiss prosecutors are looking into a number of accounts held in the country by the former monarch and his alleged associates.
It is alleged in documents from the Swiss prosecutor that Juan Carlos received a $100m “donation” from the king of Saudi Arabia that he put in an offshore account in 2008. Four years later, he allegedly gifted €65m from the account to his former lover, Corinna Larsen.
Last week, Spain’s El Confidencial website reported that Juan Carlos withdrew €100,000 a month from the account between 2008 and 2012, and used the money to pay for some of the royal family’s expenses.
Juan Carlos has said that he never told his son he was set to benefit from two offshore funds, but has made no further comment on the allegations.
Although the Socialist party, which heads Spain’s minority coalition government, has sided with rightwing parties to head off a parliamentary inquiry into the king’s finances, it has been blunt into its assessment of the matter.
“It’s obvious that, collectively, Spaniards are hearing some unsettling reports that disturb all of us, and which disturb me, too,” the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said last Wednesday.
“But I think there are some things worth mentioning in all this. First, that there are some media that aren’t looking the other way – on the contrary, they’re reporting all this. Second, there’s a justice system that’s taking action. Third – and this is something I’m grateful for – the royal house itself had distanced itself following these disturbing reports.”
Sánchez also said the 1978 constitution – which stated that “the person of the King is inviolable and shall not be held accountable” – needed “to evolve in accordance with the standards and political conduct that society demands”.
Carlos Flores, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Valencia, said that while there had long been “doubts or suspicions” about the former king’s private activities, “what’s happening now with the discovery of all these business dealings is unprecedented”.
But he questioned how any efforts to separate private behaviour from the public role would work in practice.
“The thing is that the king is the head of state – he’s a symbol of the state – and it’s impossible to distinguish between the public and the private,” said Flores.
“The public and the private are intertwined. If the king goes to open a monument and runs over a pedestrian with his car on the way, is that a public or private matter? And if he holds a banquet for the head of a neighbouring country and someone gets food poisoning, is the king responsible publicly or privately?”
Flores also said it would be “absurd” to try to change the constitution for the sake of the king’s immunity when there were many more pressing reasons for it to be overhauled.
Joaquín Urías, a lecturer in constitutional law at the University of Seville, agreed that while the allegations about Juan Carlos’s finances were having an “unprecedented impact” on the monarchy, any revisiting of the Spanish constitution was extremely unlikely given the yawning divisions in the country’s politics.
“Right now, changing the constitution is impossible, politically speaking, because of the ideological divisions within the country,” he said.
“It’s impossible to imagine political agreement over the king … or over territorial issues, such as Catalonia and the Basque country.”
Urías said both the government and current king appeared to be taking a pragmatic line when it came to the former monarch.
“I think the government is doing the only thing it can, which is trying to separate King Felipe VI from his father,” he said,
“And that’s what the royal house is also doing – I imagine at the suggestion of the government. It’s the most intelligent play for anyone wishing to maintain the system.”
Corinna Larsen plans to bring a case in UK courts alleging a continuous campaign of intimidation directed against her by elements of the Spanish state since details of the former king’s finances emerged.
Her legal team says she is relieved that proceedings have been opened in Switzerland.
I think the government is doing the only thing it can, which is trying to separate King Felipe VI from his father
“There has been wide-ranging illegal conduct against her in multiple jurisdictions to cover up the deceitful schemes of powerful figures in Spain,” said her lawyer, Robin Rathmell. “Those same people have attempted to make her the scapegoat for their decades-long improper conduct. She welcomes the opportunity to be heard publicly and for the matter to be properly investigated.”
The British historian and Hispanist Paul Preston, who has written biographies of General Franco and Juan Carlos, said Spain’s disenchantment with its former monarch should not detract from the “extremely courageous” role the king played in helping Spain in its transition to democracy.
“Whatever one says, one shouldn’t forget the historical legacy,” he said. “As far as things are concerned now – and this is true in a way of all the democracies – with the rise of populism, we’re seeing a dreadful loss of faith in the political elite for the obvious reason that they’re a lot of lying, incompetent bastards … The odd thing is why the disillusion doesn’t go further than it does.”
Spain
After passing through Portugal, Juan Carlos will have traveled to the Dominican Republic
The possibility that the king emeritus came to Portugal is being ruled out by the Spanish media, which are increasingly likely to be in the Dominican Republic, after having caught a plane in Porto. Marcelo and the King of Spain discussed in Madrid the question of the future of Juan Carlos.
Pedro Bastos Reis and Leonete Botelho August 4, 2020, 9:50 am
Where is the king emeritus of Spain, Juan Carlos, who left the country due to the repercussions of the revelations about his bank accounts in tax havens? Much has been speculated about his whereabouts. Dominican Republic and even Portugal – a thesis that has lost momentum in recent hours – are some of the possible destinations.
On Monday night, TVI said Juan Carlos would be in Portugal, at his home in Estoril, Cascais, where he spent part of his childhood during his parents' exile. In Spain, however, the press stresses that the news of Portuguese television does not cite any source.
THE PUBLICO knows that the king emeritus of Spain was in Portugal on July 18, a Saturday. The following Monday, the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, went to Madrid to, on a lightning visit, without entourage, visit the Prado Museum and have lunch with King Filipe VI, at the Zarzuela Palace. The two heads of state – who had met less than a month earlier, on 1 July, at the ceremony that marked the full reopening of the borders between Portugal and Spain in Elvas and Badajoz – then discussed the question of Juan Carlos' future. Contacted by the PUBLIC, the Presidency of the Republic replied to have nothing to say on the matter. The Foreign Office also said there was nothing to report on the matter.
The Spanish daily ABC guarantees that the monarch is in the Dominican Republic, where the multimillionaire and friend Pepe Fanjul lives. On this Caribbean island, the Fanjul family, notes El Español, owns half of the region's tourist grounds, which can lead to the monarch having at his disposal a discreet and exclusive place. In addition, in 2014, Juan Carlos took refuge in Casa de Campo, an exclusive resort on the island.
ABC adds that Juan Carlos de Madrid's trip to the Dominican Republic took place over the weekend, with the monarch making stops in Sanxenxo, Galicia, and Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport in Porto. La Vanguardia writes that the 82-year-old monarch traveled by car on Monday from Spain to Porto, where he boarded a plane to the Dominican Republic, where he plans to stay a few weeks.
Juan Carlos' departure from Spain was announced on Monday, after a letter was released in which the monarch addressed his son, Felipe VI, expressing his "absolute readiness to contribute to facilitating the exercise" of the king's duties.
In recent months, the pressure on Juan Carlos has increased substantially. The monarch is being investigated for receiving $100 million from the Saudi king and initially hiding them in a foundation, and then sending the money to former lover Corinna Larsen in a scheme to evade taxes.
The pressure under the king emeritus made a dent in the Royal House, precipitating the departure of Juan Carlos from Spain. Close friends of the king, on condition of anonymity, however, told El Mundo that the monarch admits to returning soon to Spain: "He told us, in all normality, that he may return in September," a close friend told the Spanish daily.
According to El Español, only five people know the whereabouts of Juan Carlos: King Felipe VI, who had been aware of his father's intentions for several weeks; the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, who coordinates a team of the Civil Guard to protect the king, and who, at the end of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, is expected to speak; the former head of the Spanish secret services, Félix Sanz Roldán, close to the monarch; the lawyer, Javier Sánchez Junco; and the head of the Royal House, Jaime Alfonsín, appointed by Philip VI to negotiate with the king emeritus.
The same Spanish newspaper also advances with some of the possible destinations for Juan Carlos. In addition to the increasingly likely Dominican Republic, El Español admits the possibility of king emeritus going to Geneva, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Morocco or Miami in the United States.
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Who is Corinna Larsen, the woman who shakes the Spanish monarchy?
Her name jumped into the spotlight after Juan Carlos fell during an elephant hunt in Botswana in 2012. That same year, the monarch transferred almost 65 million euros to an account in the name of the alleged mistress.
DN
04 August 2020 — 13:02
https://www.dn.pt/mundo/quem-e-corinna-larsen-a-mulher-que-abala-a-monarquia-espanhola-12494438.html
Spanish King Emeritus Juan Carlos left Spain in the middle of an investigation into an alleged $100 million commission he received from the Saudis that passed through tax havens until he reached, in part, the account of his alleged mistress, German businesswoman Corinna Larsen. Who is the woman who is calling the monarchy into question?
Corinna Larsen met Juan Carlos in 2004 during a hunt in La Garganta (owned by the Duke of Westminster in Ciudad Real), according to El País. She then also used her married name, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, although she was already separated from her second husband, German Prince Casimir (her first husband was British businessman Philip Adkins). She would only lose her nickname and title as a princess when she remarried in 2019 to a 28-year-old model.
Daughter of Danish Finn Bönnig Larsen (who was European director of the Brazilian airline Varig) and German Ingrid Sauerland, she studied International Relations in Geneva and moved to Paris at the age of 21. In his youth, he vacationed in Marbella. He speaks five languages. She lived in Monaco, where I work as an advisor to Prince Albert and his wife, Charlene.
Corinna was 39 when she met Juan Carlos (married since 1962 to Sofia) and worked as a manager for an arms company, Boss and Company, which organized luxury hunts. After meeting the king, then 66, he founded Apollonia Associates, a company that "advises corporate and institutional clients on cross-border transactions", and also began working as an assistant to Juan Carlos.
She is the one who organizes, at the king's request, The Philip and Letizia's honeymoon in Cambodia, Fiji and California and has also sought work for Infanta Cristina's husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, at the Laureus Foundation, but this refusal -- since 2018 that he has been serving prison time for embezzlement and influence peddling and Corinna's name came up during the trial.
Rumors of Juan Carlos' extramatrimonial relationship with Corinna (who has a daughter from his first marriage and a son from the latter) came to public attention in 2012 after the monarch fell during an elephant hunt in Botswana, having to undergo emergency hip surgery on his return to Madrid.
On the trip, equally controversial for showing the king's life of luxury when the Spaniards lived in crisis, was also Corinna, her first husband and youngest son (photographed alongside Juan Carlos and the elephant he killed). It was not the first time they had traveled together, and Corinna was repeatedly photographed with the king.
He returns to the spotlight because of recordings of conversations with former policeman José Manuel Villarejo, currently in custody, where he reveals that Juan Carlos has accounts in Switzerland on behalf of iron foreheads and that he received million-dollar commissions for business with Spanish companies. And also, already this year, for having received almost 65 million euros that says that the monarch transferred to him for "gratitude and love".
The money will be part of the commission the monarch will have received from the Saudis because of the deal to build a high-speed train line between Mecca and Medina, in charge of a Spanish consortium. A deal that Swiss and Spanish are investigating, with Corinna -- who after the end of her relationship with the monarch claimed to have been the target of persecution by the Spanish secret -- accused of money laundering.