Former King Juan Carlos I returned to Spain for the first time after two years of voluntary exile in Abu Dhabi.
The monarch had left Spain in August 2020, while Spanish and Swiss prosecutors had launched investigations into alleged financial wrongdoing affecting him.
The scandals and his departure have once again ignited the debate on the need to still have a monarchy in Spain. In Spain, prosecutors have dismissed the investigation because much of the financial behavior in question dates back to when the former king was protected from immunity as ruler of Spain and other possible frauds are on the statute of limitations.
However, the investigations allowed for the recovery of 5.1 million euros in fines and income taxes that Juan Carlos had not declared to the Spanish tax authorities, according to the conclusions of the prosecutor’s office. In Switzerland, prosecutors have also closed the case.
Although he was not among the suspects, the Swiss prosecutors reported having discovered that Juan Carlos in 2008, so before he abdicated, had received 100 million euros from the Saudi finance ministry. And the case also brought to light millions more received by the king and his ex-lover Corinna Larsen, a Danish-German businesswoman.