Spain's Juan Carlos 'flew to UAE' as he went into exile

Juan Carlos, the disgraced former Spanish king, is in exile in the UAE, according to media reports on Friday.

ABC newspaper said the royal flew to Abu Dhabi on a private jet in the wake of a financial scandal. Speculation about the whereabouts of the ex-monarch has been rising in Spain since his bombshell announcement on Monday that he was leaving the country.

ABC reported that a private Bombardier Global 6500 jet flew from Paris to the northwestern Spanish city of Vigo to pick up Juan Carlos, four security guards and one other person on Monday, then flew on a 6,038km journey to a private airport in Abu Dhabi.

Once there, the 82-year-old was driven directly to the Emirates Palace, a luxury hotel with a private beach, the paper claimed.

It cited details of the plane and flight agenda, giving its registration number as 9H-VBIG and saying it was rented from the Malta-based company TAG Aviation.

Juan Carlos was invited to stay in the Middle Eastern state by his friend, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, ABC says.

In 2018, Juan Carlos ran into controversy when he was photographed meeting Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia  at a grand prix race in UAE  in the wake of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Juan Carlos may be hoping to escape the media in the UAE.

“This enclave is the most secure for the monarch because it is almost impossible and very risky to take his photograph. The laws of this country are very tough against the paparazzi,” the newspaper comments.

Spanish media have also suggested the ex-monarch may be in the Dominican Republic or Portugal.

In 2018, a Swiss prosecutor started an investigation into possible money laundering relating to a $100 million  (£80 million) gift to Juan Carlos from the King of Saudi Arabia.

Juan Carlos is also being investigated for the first time by Spain's Supreme Court over his role in alleged bribes related to a high-speed train deal in Saudi Arabia.