Spain’s Supreme Court has launched an investigation into former king Juan Carlos over possible illegal commissions linked to a high-speed rail project in Saudi Arabia.
The court prosecutor’s office says it aims to establish the ex-king’s connection with the project after his abdication in June 2014. At that point he lost his immunity from prosecution.
Spanish firms won a €6.7bn (£6bn) deal to build a Mecca-Medina rail link.
The probe involves Swiss banks too.
Spanish anti-corruption officials suspect that the king kept some undeclared funds in Switzerland, and a Swiss investigation is under way. However, those officials are awaiting documentation from the Swiss authorities, Spain’s La Vanguardia news website reports.
“This investigation focuses, precisely, on establishing or discarding the criminal relevance of deeds that happened after June 2014,” the Spanish prosecutor’s office said.
There has been no comment so far from the ex-king himself or his lawyers.
The Spanish government said that “justice is equal for all” and it would “not interfere” in the inquiry.
