The judge of the Audiencia Nacional, José Luis Calama, has extended the investigation of the 'Plus Ultra case' by six months, until May 28, 2027. The magistrate is investigating whether former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero intervened to help the airline obtain the public bailout of 53 million euros and whether this alleged mediation was linked to the payment of a commission. Zapatero denied before the judge having made any efforts to secure the aid.
The previous deadline expired on November 28. The Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the popular prosecution, whose legal direction is exercised by the PP, had requested the extension because there are still statements to be taken and documents and electronic devices to be analyzed. Calama also awaits reports from the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) on information requested from banks and public bodies. The judge states in the order that these reports could lead to new proceedings or the inclusion of other investigated parties.
The Council of Ministers authorized the bailout on March 9, 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, from the solvency fund for strategic companies. The aid was divided into a participatory loan of 34 million and an ordinary loan of 19 million. A Madrid court dismissed a first case regarding the granting of the aid in 2023, with the backing of the Provincial Court. The current investigation began later due to suspicions of money laundering, and Calama took over the case in March of this year.
In the May order, Calama placed Zapatero at the head of an alleged influence peddling network and focused on a contract that provided for a remuneration of 530,000 euros, equivalent to 1% of the bailout. The former president of Plus Ultra, Julio Martínez Sola, declared in September that he took it for granted that this commission was intended for Zapatero's circle. Let's remember, the former executive did not specify what steps the former president would have taken to facilitate the loan.
"I have exercised absolutely no influence in the bailout," Zapatero declared before Calama on June 17. The former president maintained that he never discussed the aid with political officials or civil servants and defended that the income he received from Análisis Relevante, the company of his collaborator Julio Martínez Martínez, corresponded to consulting work.
The next statements and Reyes's mobile phone
On November 19, José Ángel Partearroyo, former director of Participadas of the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI), and Félix Martín, former financial director of Plus Ultra, are summoned as witnesses. For November 30, the statements as investigated parties of Laura and Alba Rodríguez Espinosa, Zapatero's daughters, are scheduled. The judge is investigating the payments their company, What The Fav, received for marketing work that the Police have questioned. The statement as an investigated party of Gertrudis Alcázar, the former president's secretary, is also pending.
Among the pending proceedings is the request for judicial cooperation from the United States to use as evidence the conversations extracted from the phone of Rodolfo Reyes, an investigated shareholder of Plus Ultra. U.S. authorities provided these communications, in which airline executives discuss the efforts to obtain the rescue. Calama requested authorization in June to formally incorporate them as evidence into the Spanish procedure.
In a separate proceeding, Calama is investigating the origin of the jewels seized from Zapatero's office on May 19, which a first appraisal valued at 1.3 million euros. The defense maintains that some of the pieces were a personal gift from the then King of Saudi Arabia during an official visit in 2007. On October 27, the magistrate rejected the former president's request to ask Saudi authorities to corroborate that version.
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