MADRID, Jan 15 — Veteran Spanish singer Julio Iglesias is preparing his defence against sexual abuse allegations by two women ex-employees that have dominated headlines in Spain, celebrity magazine Hola! reported yesterday.

The women — a domestic worker and a physiotherapist — allege they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias’s properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021, according to Women’s Link Worldwide and Amnesty International.

The organisations said a complaint filed with Spanish prosecutors on January 5 outlined alleged acts that could be considered “a crime of human trafficking for the purpose of forced labour” and “crimes against sexual freedom”.

Grammy-winning crooner Iglesias, 82, has made no public comments since a joint investigation by Spanish newspaper elDiario.es and US television network Univision aired the allegations on Tuesday.

Hola! reported yesterday that it spoke by telephone with Iglesias, who told them the truth would come out and everything would be clarified, but provided no direct quotes from the conversation.

Iglesias and his legal team are preparing his defence and he wishes to get to the bottom of the issue so that no doubts remain about what happened, Hola! wrote, saying it obtained the exclusive interview thanks to a years-long friendship with him.

Iglesias’s entourage has denied the accusations in private and is shocked, Hola! added.

Iglesias is one of the most successful Latin artists of all time, with more than 300 million records sold in a career spanning decades. — AFP