Tax agency opens new investigation into former king of Spain's hunting trips

Spain's tax agency has opened a new investigation into the former king of Spain, Juan Carlos I, the latest in a series of financial scandals he has been embroiled in.

According to reports in the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, tax inspectors have sent the ex-monarch several requests for information over the past year, some of them recent, asking him to prove the origin of the funds with which he paid for flights and other expenses related to hunting trips he undertook after he abdicated in 2014.

The authorities have also requested justification for gifts received by Juan Carlos in a private capacity from business people and friends.

The new requests for information made by the treasury are not directly related to the outstanding taxes that the emeritus king has regularized already, for example, paying almost €4.4m in 2021 for previously undeclared income relating to flights on a private jet.

The formal king's financial advisors have been responding to the latest requests from the tax authorities. The total amount has not exceeded €120,000 per year, keeping it below the legal threshold at which it would become a crime against the public purse.

The Spanish treasury maintains an ongoing tax inspection into the former monarch through administrative channels, despite the payments already made.

"Explanations of what?"

Juan Carlos recently returned to Spain for a four-day trip from the UAE after an absence of almost two years.

He faced renewed criticism on his return for failing to address the corruption scandals which prompted him to leave in August 2020.

"Explanations of what?" was his response to questions from reporters on Sunday over the various legal cases that marked the end of his reign.

Several political parties voiced their disapproval at the ex-king's reluctance to shed light on the corruption allegations.

In the summer of 2020, Juan Carlos made the decision to flee Spain as corruption scandals mounted, in order to protect the image of the monarchy, now led by his son, Felipe VI.

Listen to our Filling the Sink podcast episode from March 2021 to hear more about the rise and fall of the former king, Juan Carlos.