The former King of Spain (king emeritus) pays a further €4.4million to the Spanish tax authorities. It is the second payment he has made since December 2020, after failing to declare “gifts and services” received.
On Friday, the lawyers of the Spanish king emeritus announced Juan Carlos paid nearly €4.4million to the Spanish tax authorities. He previously reached a settlement for these back taxes, writes the Spanish newspaper El País.
More than five million euros paid so far
In December 2020, Juan Carlos I announced through his lawyers he had reached a settlement with the Spanish tax authorities. In that month he paid €678,000 in tax arrears for the tax years 2016 to 2018. The nearly €4.4million is his second payment. According to El País, this will not be his last payment. In total, the former king of Spain would have to repay about €8million.
Much of this settlement relates to payments from the Zagatka Foundation, owned by Juan Carlos’ nephew. The foundation paid for private flights and other services to Juan Carlos which he never reported to the tax authorities.
Corruption scandals before, during and after the reign of king emeritus
For years, the former King of Spain has been under fire for corruption scandals and tax evasion. For example, the Swiss account of Juan Carlos, which contained millions of euros, was a secret from the Spanish tax authorities. The king emeritus was also in the news because his grandchildren used his credit cards. The origin of the large amounts paid are unclear.
One of the biggest scandals suspected of Juan Carlos is the role he played in awarding contracts to Spanish companies for the high-speed project in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is still of the opinion that all these sums of money were a gift. But other sources report it was a bribe that the former king funneled into Spain.
No prosecution for suspected illegal activities
Despite these allegations, the decision at the end of October 2020 was that the authorities will not prosecute Juan Carlos for the many cases that occurred during his reign. Nevertheless, several investigations are still ongoing – such as that of the dubious credit cards and the payments of the Zagatka foundation. These are possible illegal activities undertaken after he stepped down as King in 2014. Juan Carlos can be prosecuted and convicted for illegal acts that happened before and after his reign.
