Former Spain king Juan Carlos has said he will live in Abu Dhabi
Spain's former king Juan Carlos said he will remain in Abu Dhabi despite the closure of an investigation into his financial dealings, which has led to him in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates, the Spanish royal family announced on Monday.
“For now, I prefer for personal reasons, which do not concern anyone else, to continue to live in Abu Dhabi in a permanent and stable way,” Juan Carlos told his son, the ruler of Spain, Felipe VI of the royal family. In a letter published by. , AFP reported.
"It seems timely for me to consider returning to Spain, but not immediately," Juan Carlos said, five days after Spain's public prosecutor published the decision to drop all three investigations against him. .
Juan Carlos went into self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates in 2020 following allegations of potentially illegal commissioning involving a high-speed rail project in Saudi Arabia that was awarded to a Spanish consortium in 2011.
While he was never charged with a crime, the investigation tarnished his reputation and that of the Spanish monarchy.
Felipe has taken steps to distance himself from his father, who resigned from the Spanish throne in 2014.
In Abu Dhabi, Juan Carlos said that he "found peace, especially for this period of my life, although, naturally, I would often return to Spain". - AFP