MADRID, Aug 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — There is intense speculation in the Spanish media about the whereabouts of embattled ex-King Juan Carlos, after his shock announcement on Monday that he was leaving the country.
The 82-year-old, who is the subject of a corruption probe, announced the move in a letter on the royal website.
It gave no details about his destination, but some reports suggest he has gone to the Dominican Republic.
However, officials there said they had no information that he was coming.
A spokeswoman for the Caribbean nation’s immigration service said he had not entered the country, despite reports that he had arrived on Tuesday. But she said he had been there for a few days from late February to early March.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he does not know where the former king is.
In his letter, Juan Carlos said he would be available if prosecutors needed to speak to him.
In June, Spain’s Supreme Court opened an investigation into his alleged involvement in a high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia.
Spain’s Supreme Court has said it aims to establish Juan Carlos’s connection with the Saudi Arabia contract after his abdication.
Spanish firms won a €6.7bn deal to build a Mecca-Medina rail link.
The probe involves Swiss banks too.
Spanish anti-corruption officials suspect that the former king kept some undeclared funds in Switzerland, and a Swiss investigation is under way.
The Spanish government has said that “justice is equal for all” and it would “not interfere” in the inquiry. — NNN-AGENCIES
