Former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is going to submit a document to the court to certify that the jewels seized from his office by the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit of the Police were a gift from the Saudi royal family to his wife during his time as Prime Minister (2004-2011).
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This move would leave that part of the investigation to be dismissed due to the statute of limitations on the crime, provided that the National Court judge José Luis Calama does not maintain the existence of an alleged crime of money laundering and another of smuggling. For now, the most likely scenario is that he will agree to the request of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office to extend the appraisal of the jewels, which could exceed the initial value set at 1.3 million euros.
This is suggested by legal sources to La Vanguardia hours before Zapatero once again finds himself at the judicial epicenter this Monday when the two former top executives of Plus Ultra admit that they paid the former socialist leader, through the company of his friend Julio Martínez Martínez, Análisis Relevante (AR), 1% of the airline’s bailout if it was granted, as a “desperate measure” to save the company.
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Shortly before the August summer holidays began, the former president saw how his alibi about his consulting work and his relationship with Plus Ultra faded after several judicial moves by other suspects before the magistrate.
His friend Julio Martínez Martínez chose to step forward and start a collaboration process with justice in order to receive favorable treatment if the investigation continues and the judge gathers enough evidence to bring them to trial for the alleged influences exercised by Rodríguez Zapatero to have the Government grant a 53 million euro bailout to Plus Ultra in 2021 after the pandemic. He admitted to the judge that the mastermind of AR was the former president, who sought clients and handled the relevant arrangements, including Plus Ultra.
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The two main former executives of Plus Ultra will admit before the judge Zapatero’s involvement
Since the beginning of the case, Zapatero has denied making any arrangements for such an airline, has defended that he did not know its executives, and has limited himself to maintaining that he was hired by Martínez, his personal friend, as a mere external consultant. Although there was the option that the businessman would not align his defense with that of the former president, the latter has maintained at all times the legality and good conduct of both. After learning of Martínez’s change of strategy, Zapatero continues to maintain his own.
Meanwhile, the socialist intends to continue defending his innocence and deny any arrangements in favor of Plus Ultra. And he will do so despite the fact that the then president of the company and the CEO, Julio Martínez Sola and Roberto Roselli, have already informed the judge that they indeed made arrangements and offered 1% of the bailout if Zapatero helped them obtain it. The former president’s card is to cling to his innocence since his idea of dismissing the case was discarded last Friday by Calama, who validated the wiretaps, searches, and the origin of the case.
The two former executives of the airline – who had to resign at the end of July after admitting to paying this commission – now have to ratify their statement before the judge and will do so between today and tomorrow.
The judge is pending extending the appraisal of the former president’s jewels valued at 1.3 million euros
The first to testify is Martínez Sola, who stated in his document – submitted in response to what Martínez declared – that he contacted Zapatero to offer help to save the airline from the economic crisis. He acknowledges a call made by the socialist in April 2020 from a hidden number, in which he said 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.
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