In recent weeks there had been a tense calm in the Plus Ultra case. Since José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero testified as the alleged leader of an influence peddling scheme on June 17, things began to move. He denied everything, distanced himself from any management in favor of the airline. He left the responsibility, in any case, to Julio Martínez Martínez. The businessman’s position was compromised and he had two options: admit his dealings with Plus Ultra, the creation of an offshore company in Dubai and that his relationship with Zapatero was limited to paying him for consulting, as the former president claimed; or follow the path of the corrupter in the Mask case, Víctor de Aldama, admit the facts, at least in part, and let the big catch fall.
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One day before his testimony before the judge of the National Court José Luis Calama, Julio Martínez has decided on this last option. His bet has been to distance himself from his friend, with whom he has shared hours of running and business. The judicial investigation had closed in on them and he has chosen to try to save himself. If he admits the facts and offers solid evidence against Zapatero to the justice system, he will be rewarded with a reduced sentence if it goes to trial.
But he is not the only one who has decided to admit, at least partially, the evidence presented by the UCO. The president of Plus Ultra, Francisco Martínez Sola, admitted yesterday that he paid Martínez Martínez and Zapatero, through the first’s companies, 1% of the bailout if it was granted, as a “desperate measure” to save the company.
The socialist leader’s friend, who testifies today, says the former president was behind Análisis Relevante
According to the executive’s version, it was the former head of government himself who contacted him to offer help to save the airline from the economic crisis, first offering help to obtain ICO funds and even dealing with certain banking entities. Then came the bailout.
In that call made by the socialist in April 2020 through a hidden number, he told him that from that moment on his interlocutor would be Julio Martínez Martínez. At that time no money was discussed, but later they were informed that Martínez and Zapatero had set up a kind of “finance boutique” from where the kickback would come.
According to Martínez Sola, he assumed, along with CEO Roberto Roselli, this payment “unexpectedly” with the sole intention of “saving” the company. Neither of them – says Sola – intends to evade their responsibility, although they clarify to the judge that they did it as a consequence of a “desperate situation” to obtain liquidity “resulting from a terrible economic situation” due to the pandemic in 2020. After learning of this confession, the company sent a letter to the court to announce the start of an internal investigation.
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Both Martínez and the airline president admit that it was Zapatero who offered his management
Regarding the letter from Martínez Martínez, Zapatero’s friend, in which he admits the evidence for which he is allegedly charged, legal sources indicate that it is the beginning of what he will admit today in court. For now, he has wanted to inform the judge of what his position will be. The businessman explains through his lawyers that on July 30, 2020, a contract was signed between Plus Ultra and his company, Análisis Relevante, in which fees were agreed upon that were set at 5,000 euros per month plus the corresponding VAT.
In fact, Martínez assures that Zapatero was the one who “led” and “controlled” all the movements of Análisis Relevante. “Rodríguez Zapatero was out of the shareholding and formal bodies of the company, but he was the one who led it and decided all those matters of strategy and client acquisition,” he says.
Precisely because of his status as former head of government and his personal and professional relationships, “Rodríguez Zapatero attracted the four companies that contracted Análisis Relevante until 2025.”
The executive admits that 1% was paid to the former head of the Executive and his collaborator for helping the company
Regarding the contract with Plus Ultra, the businessman explains that it was Zapatero who found the business. In fact, it was the former president who told Martínez that “he would receive a call from the top executives of the airline in May 2020.” This version matches that offered by Sola and contradicts that of the socialist leader. The former president’s friend maintains that it was he who managed everything because he “had no possibility of obtaining anything by himself, much less public or private financing.” His mission — he says — “consisted of mediating between client and consultant.” “In his role as consultant, it was Rodríguez Zapatero who set the steps to follow,” he indicates.
The influence behind the 53 million euro bailout
Now that Julio Martínez has stepped forward to point to Zapatero as the person who allegedly led the aid to the airline Plus Ultra, the next question is who in the Government or SEPI influenced the acceptance of the 53 million euro bailout in March 2021. The judicial thesis, now ratified by one of the main suspects, is that the Council of Ministers approved the bailout proposed by the Strategic Companies Solvency Support Fund (FASEE), after the intervention of the former head of government. The next step is to find out if there was direct influence on a member of the Council. However, the Government has defended the legality of the bailout to a company “strategic for tourism, employment, and connectivity” and that this legality was validated by the General Intervention of the State Administration (IGAE), the Court of Auditors, and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
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