The dotted line through which the tentacles of the plot allegedly led by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero extend internationally has a special stop in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). The case reveals that the former president sought to set up a commercial lobby between the United Arab Emirates, Spain, and Latin America to expand his influence. The idea, together with his trusted man Julio Martínez, and an expert in commercial transactions in the Arab country, Tomás Guerrero Blanco, was to help Arab companies enter the Spanish or Latin American market and vice versa.
To do this, he would have created a shell company in Dubai to be able to collect the business fees, which they expected with great success to reach three million dollars in five years. It is true that the judge of the National Court investigating him, José Luis Calama, suspects that the company was created to “channel” the alleged commission of 530,000 euros for the rescue of the airline Plus Ultra. According to the instructor’s order, the former head of government had organized a lunch – with Martínez and Guerrero, a businessman with great influence in the Islamic economy – in which the intention to “establish a subsidiary company” in the emirate was allegedly forged. In a message the day after that lunch, Guerrero, with a PSOE card, sent – “according to what was discussed yesterday” – an email to Martínez detailing the necessary documentation to establish the subsidiary.
The established company, Landside Dubai Fzco, was 100% owned by Idella Consulenza Strategica, the company that would have charged the 1% commission for the rescue of Plus Ultra.
The former leader will have to explain the role of the company opened in Dubai by a friend
Calama suspects that Landside was a mere front to channel the commission, thus avoiding “traceability in Spain.” However, the company’s business plan was “to offer professional consulting services” to all kinds of companies and business organizations from Spanish-speaking countries “interested in having a presence and/or doing business” in the United Arab Emirates, “as well as to companies from the Emirates interested in expanding their businesses in Spain and Latin America.”
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Guerrero, a graduate in Law, Economics, and a master’s in Development and Economic Growth from Carlos III University, was director of the Madrid office of the Halal Institute, the entity responsible for certifying goods and services suitable for Muslim consumption in Spain and Latin America. Based in Dubai since 2019, according to his public professional profiles, he directs a global business development center focused on opportunities in the halal economy (the set of products, goods, and services permitted by Islamic Sharia law).
The case includes emails linking Guerrero to the creation of this company, at least as a guide. Martínez’s administrative assistant sent him the company name along with a form called “New Branch Resolution,” necessary for opening a branch in Dubai of a foreign company.
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This maneuver could be to open the business in the Emirates or a mere financial maneuver. Calama links the date of the company’s creation with Martínez’s contract with Plus Ultra for the rescue, one week later. Zapatero will have the opportunity to explain himself on June 2, while the airline is already suffering the consequences and has lost a potential investor in the company.
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