The judge of the National Court José Luis Calama has blocked the accounts of the former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero while investigating the flow of money he may have received for his influences, among other things, to get the Government to approve the bailout of the airline Plus Ultra. Specifically, he has agreed to block the balances of his accounts up to the limit of 490,780 euros, which is the amount received from the company Análisis Relevante, whose administrator is his friend and also investigated Julio Martínez Martínez.
The magistrate has also agreed to block the balances of other companies investigated in the case
According to an order to which La Vanguardia has had access, the instructor has agreed to block various accounts “given the state of the current proceedings.” This decision was the next step after the entry and search of the former president’s official office was agreed on Tuesday, where all paper and digital documentation was seized.
Calama made this decision at the request of the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of the Police, which in its latest report requested searches of both the office and his private home – the latter rejected by the instructor – as well as the blocking of his accounts to prevent money movements while the investigation lasts.
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The instructor, who agreed to summon Rodríguez Zapatero as an investigated party on June 2, places the former head of government as the alleged leader of “a stable and hierarchical structure of influence peddling” whose purpose “is to obtain economic benefits through intermediation and the exercise of influence before public bodies in favor of third parties, mainly Plus Ultra.” According to Calama, this network used shell companies, simulated documentation, and opaque financial channels “to exert illicit influences, hide the origin and destination of funds, and obtain economic benefits in favor of third parties and the network itself.”
The case against the former socialist president revolves around the 1% commission (530,000 euros) paid by the airline Plus Ultra for the arrangements made by Zapatero for the Government to grant a bailout to Plus Ultra in 2021 of 53 million euros, but the instructor already points to other high-value international operations such as those related to petcoke (related to oil), gold, buying and selling shares or currencies.
The kickbacks would be received through a commercial structure, what they call a “financial boutique” through invoices for fictitious work and using a corporate network. The former PSOE leader is said to have even ordered the creation of a company in Dubai to channel the payments and would have used his daughters’ company, What the Fav, for those collections, benefiting them as well. So far, they have identified irregular payments of one and a half million euros to the former president and close to one million to his daughters.
