Esquerra Republicana once again calls the Spanish parliament to investigate the Spanish monarchy after new revelations and the ditching by PSOE, PP and Vox of the previous motion

On Thursday the Esquerra Republicana group in Congress again tendered a motion for the establishment of a Commission to enquire into the Royal Household, in order to shed light on the scheme linked to alleged offences committed by members of the Royal Household and political, diplomatic and trade involvement in Saudi Arabia. On March 5, Esquerra had already pushed for an inquiry into the Spanish monarchy, which was dismissed with the votes of the Socialist Party, the conservative People’s Party, and far-right Vox.

The purpose of the commission would be to enquire, among other things, into the existence of opaque structures with the participation of the former Head of State, for the award of trade contracts; alleged money laundering by the former Head of the State, the possible irregular accounts held by members of the Royal Family in tax havens, the mechanisms used and the origin of the funds, and the beneficiaries of such illicit or illegal activities by the former Head of State, and especially whether the beneficiaries include the current Head of State, King Felipe VI.

It was recently revealed that the Swiss prosecutor’s office is investigating a bank account held by the Panamanian company “Lucum Foundation,” of which former King Juan Carlos de Borbón would be a beneficiary, and to which the Government of Saudi Arabia would have deposited $100 million. Investigations indicate that these transactions are linked to high-speed train contracts in Mecca, awarded to several Spanish companies.

After the scandal broke and in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, on Sunday, March 15, Felipe VI issued a statement that he had forsworn his father’s presumed inheritance, although it was revealed that he had known for at least a year that he was the beneficiary of the allegedly illicit monies. As far as Esquerra Republicana is concerned, this is a fully-fledged confession. Esquerra condemns this attempt by the Spanish monarchy to take advantage of the health crisis the country is suffering to hide this disgrace, and for this reason it has been necessary to tender this motion for the enquiry into the behaviour of the royal family once again.