Money laundering was suspected. But now the public prosecutor has closed the case against the former Spanish king due to a lack of sufficient charges.
The Swiss judiciary has largely suspended criminal proceedings against the former Spanish King Juan Carlos (83) and other suspects on suspicion of money laundering.
The Ministry of Public Affairs in the canton of Geneva said there was insufficient evidence to suspect that Juan Carlos had received hidden commissions in exchange for orders to Spanish companies through accounts of straw men at Swiss banks.
“It was suspected that the commissions were in connection with the conclusion of a contract for the construction of the high-speed train between Medina and Mecca by the Spanish companies,” the statement said.
In 2008 Juan Carlos received 100 million dollars (89 million euros today) from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Finance through a foundation account with the Geneva-based private bank Mirabaud, of which he is the beneficial owner. In addition, there were other insufficiently documented payments to him or confidants.
“However, since the investigation was unable to establish a sufficient connection between the amount received from Saudi Arabia and the conclusion of contracts for the construction of the high-speed train, the prosecution closed the proceedings due to a lack of sufficient charges (…),” the ministry said.
Bank Mirabaud was sentenced to a fine of 50,000 francs (48,000 euros) for violating the reporting obligation because it had enough evidence to report unusual financial flows, it said.
Spain’s judiciary has already started three investigations against Juan Carlos. Among other things, it concerns the suspicion of money laundering and tax fraud, alleged bribery payments during the construction of the express train route, allegedly undeclared donation income and also secret bank accounts abroad.
To avert criminal proceedings for tax fraud, Juan Carlos initially paid a good 678,000 euros at the end of 2020, and in February of this year a further 4.4 million euros in tax debts, as his lawyer confirmed. It was initially unclear whether there would be charges in Spain against the Altkönig, who had lived abroad since August 2020 and resigned in 2014.
Source From: Stern
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