Spain’s ex-king Juan Carlos staying at luxury Abu Dhabi hotel after fleeing amid graft scandal: report

The 82-year-old is hiding out at the Emirates Palace Hotel since leaving Spain aboard a private jet

Juan Carlos is under investigation over allegations he had received US$100 million from the late Saudi king

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Former Spanish king Juan Carlos. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:56pm, 7 Aug 2020Updated: 8:58pm, 7 Aug 2020

Former Spanish king Juan Carlos has been staying at Abu Dhabi’s exclusive Emirates Palace Hotel since leaving Spain aboard a private jet on Monday under a cloud of financial scandal involving Saudi Arabia, newspaper ABC said on Friday.

United Arab Emirates officials and the Emirates Palace Hotel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Dogged by mounting corruption allegations, Juan Carlos, 82, abruptly announced his decision to leave Spain on Monday but there has been no official confirmation of his whereabouts, setting off an international guessing game.

ABC said a private plane en route from Paris to Abu Dhabi stopped off in the northwestern Spanish city of Vigo to pick up Juan Carlos, four security guards and one other person on Monday morning.

Upon arrival at Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen airport, the ex-king and his entourage were flown by helicopter to the government-owned Hotel Emirates Palace, according to ABC, a pro-monarchy Spanish daily.

A palace spokesman said he did not know where Juan Carlos was. The former king’s lawyer did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Handout

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