New details of former king of Spain corruption investigations, Saudi Arabia involved
The European Microscope for Middle East Issues revealed new details regarding the investigations into corruption charges against the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos, indicating that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was involved.
The European institution, concerned with monitoring the reflections of the Middle Eastern issues in Europe, said that the recent departure of the former Spanish king from his country for the UAE has shed the light once again on the corruption charges against him inside and outside his country.
European media reported that in 2008, Carlos received one hundred million dollars from the then Saudi monarch, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.
According to media reports, there are doubts that this donation was nothing but a bribe or in exchange for some business related to the construction of a high-speed train between Madinah and Makkah. In 2011, a major Spanish company was chosen to implement this project, most likely by mediation by Juan Carlos.
At the beginning, tax-free amount of one hundred million dollars, were transferred to an account in the private Mirabaud bank in Geneva, which bears the name of the “Lokum” Foundation, based in Panama. According to the Geneva court, former king Juan Carlos is the most benefited by this foundation.
Then, in 2012, Juan Carlos donated part of this money – 65 million euros – to his then-lover Corinna Larsen. The amount was transferred to an account in a bank branch in the Bahamas, while the headquarters of this private bank is located in Geneva.
According to the statements of the Geneva court, the attorney general Yves Bartossa have been conducting investigations since 2018 due to suspicion of money laundering against Corinna Larsen and her two other partners, a financial asset manager and a Swiss lawyer, who both run the foundation. The Spanish judiciary is also conducting a similar investigation.
