Spanish PM urges former king to speak about financial probes

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s prime minister is urging former King Juan Carlos I to offer a public explanation of his suspected financial wrongdoings. The 83-year-old former monarch has been the target of official investigations in Spain and Switzerland. One of them involved possible kickbacks in a high-speed railway contract in Saudi Arabia. Sánchez told broadcaster La Sexta late Thursday that the information made public so far “has eroded the Spanish people’s confidence in their institutions.” Juan Carlos moved abroad last year as allegations of financial scandals swirled around him and embarrassed the royal household. King Felipe VI, who rose to the Spanish throne after his Juan Carlos’ 2014 abdication, has distanced himself from his father.