Spanish Prime Minister and leader of the Socialist Party (PSOE) Pedro Sánchez appealed today for the defense of former government leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who has been indicted for several crimes, and recognized that these are “tough times” for the political organization.
In a message sent to the PSOE executive leadership, cited by several Spanish media outlets, Sánchez called for the protection of Zapatero’s “good name” during these difficult moments for the party.
“However, today more than ever” socialists must persist in the task of “continuing to fight to move Spain forward,” he added in his written address. Sánchez argued that Zapatero has done “much good and continues to do so” for the broader “socialist cause” throughout his career.
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, 65, prime minister between 2004 and 2011 and former PSOE leader, will be heard on June 2 “as an investigated party” by a judge “for crimes of influence peddling and other related offenses,” Spain’s Audiência Nacional said today in an official statement. At issue is a judicial case “opened to investigate the bailout of the airline Plus Ultra,” according to the Audiência Nacional, which serves as a central judicial investigation authority in Spain.
Read more about this topic: Spain: Zapatero indicted on corruption and money laundering
Judicial sources cited by Spanish media revealed that Zapatero is currently indicted for three specific crimes: criminal organization, influence peddling, and forgery. Zapatero guaranteed his total innocence today and promised complete collaboration with the justice system during the upcoming proceedings.
“I want to reaffirm that all of my public and private activity has always been carried out with absolute respect for legality,” Zapatero said in a video statement sent directly to media outlets.
The judicial investigation into Zapatero adds to other ongoing probes involving individuals who are or were close to Pedro Sánchez, such as a former minister, former PSOE leaders, or the prime minister’s own brother and wife, who are being accused or investigated for corruption or influence peddling.
The president of the People’s Party (PP, right), the largest opposition force in Spain, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, stated today in a message on the social network X that for Sánchez “only one dignified exit remains, which is to not continue staining the good name of politics, justice, and Spain for a single minute more.”
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According to the Spanish press, this investigation involving Zapatero centers on suspicions of money laundering at the airline Plus Ultra and seeks the location of 53 million euros from the public bailout money granted to the company after the pandemic.
Plus Ultra, considered a small-scale airline, operates flights from Madrid to Lima (Peru), Caracas (Venezuela), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Bogotá, and Cartagena (Colombia).
In 2021, it benefited from a financial bailout of 53 million euros, granted as a loan by the Spanish government led by socialist Pedro Sánchez, who at the time created a ten-billion-euro fund to rescue companies deemed strategic that were facing severe difficulties due to COVID-19.
According to the judicial case file cited by Spanish media, Zapatero is suspected of leading “a stable and hierarchical structure of influence peddling” with the ultimate goal of obtaining “economic benefits” through “influence exerted on public authorities in favor of third parties, principally, Plus Ultra.”
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The investigation also suspects the utilization of shell companies and simulated documentation “to exercise illicit influence” and hide the true origin and destination of funds, including a firm where Zapatero’s daughters serve as administrators and partners.
This company belonging to Zapatero’s daughters, which is a communication agency, was targeted today by police searches, as were two other companies and the office of the former prime minister, as confirmed by the Audiência Nacional. The investigation, overseen by Judge José Luis Calama, suspects that Zapatero and his two daughters received 1.95 million euros in irregular commissions tied to this specific case.
