Prosecutors of Spain's Supreme Court on Monday announced the launch of an investigation to determine whether emeritus King Juan Carlos de Borbon had violated the law in relation to an international infrastructure project after his abdication in 2014
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th June, 2020) Prosecutors of Spain's Supreme Court on Monday announced the launch of an investigation to determine whether emeritus King Juan Carlos de Borbon had violated the law in relation to an international infrastructure project after his abdication in 2014.
The investigation is a part of an anti-corruption case regarding the 2011 construction contract for a high-speed railway from Saudi Arabia's Mecca to Medina. It is the largest Spanish construction project abroad and Juan Carlos personally lobbies for it.
"This investigation concentrates squarely on demarcating or dismissing criminal liability of events taking place after the month of June of 2014, the moment when the king emeritus ceased to be protected by Article 56.3 of the Spanish Constitution that gives immunity to the head of state," the prosecution said in a statement.
The investigation is based on the secret recordings of a private conversation of the king's former mistress, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, in which she mentions the railway construction contract and corresponding bribes coming from Saudi Arabia, about $90 million in total. Some of the funds could have been paid to Juan Carlos.
