Julio Iglesias under investigation in Spain for sexual offences and human trafficking overseas

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Two former domestic workers filed a complaint with the Audiencia Nacional (Spain's National Court), about events that allegedly occured in 2021 in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas

Mateo Balín

Wednesday, 14 January 2026, 11:14

The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Spain’s Audiencia Nacional (National Court) has launched an investigation into singer Julio Iglesias following a formal complaint filed on January 5th, accusing him of sexual assault and human trafficking.

The legal action was initiated by two women who worked as domestic staff for the singer at his residences in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.

The events allegedly took place in January and October 2021.

The complaint, which has been supported by international organisation Women's Link Worldwide, was filed with the National Court as this is the competent body that can investigate crimes committed by Spanish citizens when abroad, according to article 23 of the Organic Law of the Spanish judiciary.

Sources from the Public Prosecutor's Office have confirmed that preliminary criminal investigation proceedings have been opened. These investigations are confidential to protect the alleged victims while inquiries are underway.

These types of proceedings are preliminary actions carried out by the police, the Public Prosecutor's Office and, in some cases, the courts, before formal criminal or civil proceedings begin. Their purpose is to investigate, prevent crimes, secure evidence and/or clarify facts to support any future legal action in the form of a complaint.

Their function is to gather initial information to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to open legal proceedings. If in the criminal sphere, they do not involve precautionary measures that restrict rights, but rather investigative and preventive actions.

The alleged offences in this case, according to legal sources consulted, are human trafficking for the purpose of forced labour and servitude, various offences against sexual freedom and personal safety, such as sexual harassment, sexual assault and bodily harm, plus various offences against workers' rights through the imposition of abusive working conditions.

The formal complaint cites Julio Iglesias, the 82-year-old, Madrid-born singer, who resides in the Dominican Republic, as the principal perpetrator of these alleged crimes. Two women in charge of his residences in the aforementioned Caribbean island and the Bahamas are also implicated as accomplices.

Double criminality

The same sources consulted confirm that, despite the fact that the events allegedly occurred overseas in January and October 2021, meaning they have not yet reached the statute of limitations, Spanish courts have jurisdiction to try crimes committed by nationals outside the country under the following conditions: that the offences are also punishable in the place where they were committed (known as double, or dual, criminality), that no investigation has been opened there, that a treaty exists between both countries or that they involve serious offences such as those filed here.

This is why Women's Link Worldwide has requested "urgent protective measures for the victims" from the Public Prosecutor's Office. In addition to protecting their identities and those of their families, the organisation has also requested that contact be avoided between, for one, the women and their relatives and, for the other, "the suspects" of the offence. The plaintiffs, they assert, fear "external pressure or approaches motivated by possible threats aimed at making them desist" from their legal actions.

In this complaint filed by this legal collective for women's rights, the Public Prosecutor's Office was asked to grant protective measures for the two plaintiffs. The lawyers requested that the women's identities be protected due to their paricularly vulnerable socioeconomic situation, Julio Iglesias' position of influence and his "considerable capacity to retaliate against them and intimidate them". The women, according to the private prosecution, fear for their safety if their identities were revealed.