Spain, the former king Juan Carlos sued by his lover: “He spies and threatens me”

by time news

The former king of Spain, Juan Carlos, was sued by his former mistress in the High Court in London. The accusations are not peanuts: the former monarch allegedly put Mrs. Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein illegally under surveillance in Great Britain, moreover with the effective collaboration of the Spanish secret services. According to the Financial Times, the complaint was filed last December, but only made public this Monday.

According to the court, the woman accuses Juan Carlos of harassment “from 2012 until today”, harassment carried out even with “threats and defamations” as well as “illegal” surveillance that was carried out “both undercover and openly. “by some agents employed by the former monarch and Hispanic intelligence: all reasons that lead Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein to ask for material damages and a restraining order. Juan Carlos – who abdicated in 2014 – rejects the allegations, “although his legal team has not filed a defense brief”, the British daily commented. The next step is most likely a judicial battle, as the former monarch not only does not live in the UK, but was the head of state of another nation.

It is the former mistress of the king herself who reports that at the heart of the conflict there is an intrigue whose constituent elements are immense sums of money and “gifts” to be returned. And they are not small change: in 2012 Juan Carlos would have paid Sayn-Wittgenstein the modest sum of 65 million euros by making use, moreover, of a gift of 100 million dollars that the then Saudi king Abdullah had in turn made to the monarch Spanish in 2008. In the complaint, the woman states that at the time Juan Carlos had told her he wanted to “ensure support for her and her children” but also that he was “worried that her family would challenge anything that he would leave them in his will after his death. ” But at a certain point the king would have asked her for the money back or in any case “to put it at his disposal”. Upon Corinna’s refusal, the monarch had accused her of having “stolen” the funds, going so far as to defame her both in front of her own family as well as in front of her business interlocutors, including the Saudi King Salman and Prince Mohamed bin Salman. ; with the effect of causing serious losses – she always reports – in her professional income as “strategic consultant who collaborates with leading companies all over the world”. It is not clear how much Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein intends to ask in terms of damages (however, we are talking about a figure in the tens of millions of euros), while the restrictive request is aimed at preventing Juan Carlos and his agents to “communicate with her, hoard her, make defamatory statements and harass her, keeping at least 150 meters from her residences”.

According to Ms. Corinna, the Spanish intelligence agency – or people who worked for the king – had over time placed her “under physical surveillance, which includes surveillance of vehicles and personnel, the violation of her property and the ‘hacking his phones and computers “. Furthermore, Sayn-Wittgenstein claims she was threatened by the former king who threatened her with “bad consequences” if she “failed to do what he wanted”. Indeed, the then head of the Spanish Intelligence Agency, Felix Sanz Roldan, in a meeting in London in 2012, allegedly told her that “he cannot guarantee for his and his children’s physical safety”, an accusation totally rejected by 007. As for Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, she took to the headlines thanks to a safari in Botswana in the company of the former Spanish king, a journey that was at the center of a scandal and vibrant protests by Spanish animal rights activists. On the occasion, the king had also introduced her as a member of his entourage to foreign delegates.

In 2012, Corinna was chosen by Princess Charlene of Monaco as her personal advisor and image consultant. According to the tabloids, this decision was motivated by Sayn-Wittgenstein’s propensity – who was also appointed as Prince Albert II’s delegate as the Principality’s representative for foreign relations – to charitable activities. The clash with Princess Corinna – in 2000 he married the German prince Johann Casimir zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, continuing to bear the title and surname even after their divorce – is just the latest of the various scandals in which he is involved the former Spanish king. Last year, the former monarch left Spain for Abu Dhabi after the Spanish Supreme Court opened an investigation into a story of alleged bribes on a 7 billion high-speed train project in Saudi Arabia. This was followed by a second investigation into a matter of “gifts” for about 800,000 euros received from a Mexican-British businessman. Last December, Juan Carlos had to pay the Spanish tax authorities almost 680 thousand euros in back taxes, to which to add another 4.4 million euros related to jet travel on behalf of the Zagatka Foundation, an entity with headquarters in Liechtenstein controlled by his distant cousin, Alvaro de Orleans-Borbon. The judicial confrontation with his ex-lover – who claims to have suspended all intimate relationships over 10 years ago – represents another tile fallen on the head of the former king’s son, the current monarch Felipe VI, struggling with the attempt to restore the authority and popularity of the Spanish royal family. And in Madrid there are not a few who repeat the times when Juan Carlos was celebrated as a national hero for having opposed the attempted coup of 1981 and supported the transition of Spain to democracy are long gone.

You may also like

Leave a Comment