Former Spanish King Juan Carlos I has said he is leaving Spain and will live in another country because of the financial scandal at the center of it.
A letter from Juan Carlos to his son, King Felipe VI, was published today on the website of the Spanish royal family, informing him of his "considered decision to leave Spain during this period".
Since the Supreme Court of Spain opened an investigation this year, the Spanish media have been publishing testimonies from a separate investigation in Switzerland, about the millions of euros allegedly given to Juan Carlos by the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
Juan Carlos then allegedly transferred a large portion of that money to a former friend, which investigators believe was a possible attempt to hide the money from authorities.
The financial scandal, involving investigations in Spain and Switzerland, was recently described as "disturbing" by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
The 82-year-old former king is credited with helping Spain restore democracy after the 1975 death of decades-long fascist dictator Francisco Franco.
However, he abdicated in favor of his son in 2014, after the scandals that marked the last years of his reign. With that, he lost the immunity guaranteed by the Constitution to the head of state.
After media allegations that King Felipe was identified as the beneficiary of an offshore account containing 65 million euros from a gift his father received from Saudi Arabia, he renounced any inheritance he might receive from the former king.
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