Spain’s former prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is set to face a fresh inquiry after luxury watches and jewelry were found in a safe. He was already under investigation on allegations of corruption and influence-peddling.
Zapatero, a socialist leader, served as Spain’s prime minister from 2004 to 2011. His party, the Socialist Workers’ Party, is still in power in the country, and he is still regarded as an influential figure within the party.
Questions have been raised about his role in the granting of state financial support (a bailout) to the Spanish airline Plus Ultra in 2021. It is alleged that he used his influence to help Plus Ultra obtain the financial support. An investigation into this allegation against him is under way.
As part of this investigation, authorities last month carried out a search of his office. According to Spanish media reports, authorities recovered necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings worth about 1.2 million euros from there.
Luis Arroyo, a spokesman for Zapatero, said that Zapatero would explain the matter of the jewelry before a judge.
According to Spanish media reports, the recovered jewelry was made of gold, sapphires and emeralds, with origins in Zambia or Thailand.
Investigators say Zapatero failed to produce proof that duty had been paid on the jewelry found there. An investigation has now begun against him on allegations of tax evasion and smuggling.
AFP reported that associates of the former prime minister had said at the time that the valuable items were linked to a family inheritance.
Zapatero has been summoned to court to testify on the matter later this month. In the past, several other former prime ministers of Spain have been summoned to court to testify in corruption cases, but this is the first time in the country’s recent history that a former prime minister has been brought under formal investigation.
In the Plus Ultra case, the allegation against Zapatero is that in 2021 he used his influence to secure a 53 million euro state bailout for the airline and received a commission in return.
Zapatero has consistently denied the allegations of irregularities against him and has said that he never received any money from Plus Ultra.
The bailout was approved under a state fund set up to support strategic companies hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the corruption investigation, police last month searched the Socialist Workers’ Party headquarters in Madrid and seized a number of documents.
The homes of several senior party leaders were also searched, and an operation was carried out at the home of a leading businessman. Allegations have also been brought against several people, including the wife and brother of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. All of them have denied any allegations of irregularities.
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