Judge José Luis Calama has authorized the UDEF to access more than 60 bank accounts of the former President of the Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, his family, and several companies related to the 'Plus Ultra case'. The National Court thus expands the money trail after the Police identified new flows that it considers relevant to clarify the origin and destination of the payments received by the former president and his daughters' company.
The order extends to Zapatero, his wife, Sonsoles Espinosa, his daughters Alba and Laura Rodríguez Espinosa, and his secretary, María Gertrudis Alcázar. It also includes the accounts of Julio Martínez Martínez, identified as the manager and channeler of the funds, and those of numerous companies linked to the investigated network.
Calama has requested a dozen financial institutions to provide available information from January 1, 2020. The banks must provide the account opening documents, their holders and authorized persons, complete statements, transfers, investments, safe deposit boxes, and any other financial product related to the individuals and companies included in the resolution.
The order, dated this Wednesday, July 29, considers the proceedings "necessary, pertinent, and useful" to continue the investigation. Much of the data analyzed so far came from tax declarations and other fiscal documentation. Direct access to the banks will allow verifying real movements and reconstructing the path of each transfer.
The investigation continues in the preliminary inquiry phase. The UDEF's conclusions are part of a police hypothesis pending verification, while Zapatero denies any involvement in the Plus Ultra rescue and defends the legality of all his professional income.
More than 447,000 euros from Whathefav to his daughters' accounts
One of the main findings of the new report affects Whathefav SL, the advertising and marketing agency managed by Alba and Laura Rodríguez Espinosa. Agents have located transfers from the company to both of their personal accounts for a total amount of 447,095.31 euros between 2021 and 2025.
Of that amount, Laura Rodríguez Espinosa received 247,191 euros and Alba Rodríguez Espinosa another 199,904 euros. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero appears as authorized in both personal accounts, a circumstance that the Police incorporate into the analysis of the financial links between the former president and the family company.
The UDEF maintains that Whathefav was financed during those years mainly with money from companies related to the professional environment of Zapatero and Julio Martínez. Análisis Relevante transferred 242,423 euros to the agency, Agropecuaria Lucena contributed 20,993 euros and Pickashop another 18,150 euros.
The company also received 561,440 euros from Inteligencia Prospectiva, 171,727 euros from Gate Center and 12,297 euros from Thinking Heads. Investigators consider that Whathefav occupies a central place among the final recipients of the money channeled by the examined companies.
The origin and justification of these payments are now under analysis. The UDEF is trying to verify if they responded to campaigns, advertising work and services actually rendered or if, as the report suggests, some contracts would have served to justify the movement of funds towards the former president's family environment.
The UDEF places Zapatero as the main beneficiary
The police report describes a structure allegedly aimed at exercising influence in favor of clients such as Plus Ultra, Inteligencia Prospectiva and Softgestor. According to the investigators' thesis, these companies would have paid for intermediation services through consulting contracts that could hide the true motive of the transfers.
The operation would have rested on the companies controlled by Julio Martínez Martínez, a friend and professional collaborator of the former president. The UDEF attributes to Martínez the communication with clients, the daily management of the companies and the channeling of money towards Zapatero, Whathefav and other companies in his own environment.
"The set of indications reveals a hierarchical structure, with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as the main beneficiary and Julio Martínez Martínez as manager and channeler", states the police report. The agents believe that internal movements between the different companies made traceability difficult and allowed payments to be presented under generic professional concepts.
Among the companies used to introduce or redistribute funds appear Análisis Relevante, Caletón Consultores, Summer Wind, and Zenzap. The investigation also includes the names of other companies previously unknown within the procedure and aims to verify what activity each one actually developed.
The order reproduces this hypothesis with the caution inherent in a still-open case. The consideration of Zapatero as the main beneficiary comes from the UDEF's analysis and will have to be supported by the banking, documentary, and testimonial evidence gathered during the investigation.
The income received by the former president
Investigators have identified 490,780 euros transferred to Zapatero by Análisis Relevante between 2020 and 2025. The former president has explained that this money corresponds to consulting work developed for Julio Martínez's company and denies that his friend acted as a straw man.
The financial analysis also incorporates payments from different companies and organizations. These include 851,180 euros from Kreab Iberia, 649,552 euros from Thinking Heads Group, 352,980 euros from Gate Center, and 200,000 euros from Focus Social Research.
The list continues with 159,034 euros from Chinalink, 105,000 euros from Kreab Worldwide, 104,410 euros from Mimo Advisors, 53,000 euros from Bright Digital Solutions, 49,758 euros from Yuewee International Trade, 47,120 euros from the Zayed Award, and 31,766 euros from Thinking Heads Américas. The declared concepts include conferences, mediation, geopolitical analysis, strategic advice, and other professional services.
The judicial authorization will now allow each payment to be reviewed and its correspondence with contracts, invoices, and specific works to be verified. The mere receipt of these incomes does not prove their illicit origin, but the Police question part of the justifications and seek to determine if some consultancies were used to cover up remunerations for the exercise of influence.
Agents are also examining several accounts shared by Zapatero and Sonsoles Espinosa at Santander and CaixaBank. One of them would have been used to prepay 498,000 euros of a 580,000 euro mortgage loan requested just ten months earlier.
The former president's defense argues that police reports omitted operations that would explain his economic capacity, including the sale of a previous home. Full access to the accounts will allow this explanation to be cross-referenced with bank movements and patrimonial documentation.
His secretary's home without a mortgage loan
The banking investigation extends to María Gertrudis Alcázar, Zapatero's secretary and one of his closest collaborators. Alcázar acquired a home in Velilla de San Antonio for 132,055 euros without applying for a mortgage, according to the UDEF report.
The payment was made through transfers and periodic direct debits between March 2021 and June 2023. Investigators state that they have not located inheritances, recent property sales, or other operations that immediately explain the economic capacity used to complete the purchase.
The UDEF itself acknowledges that so far it has not detected direct or indirect income from the corporate network to the secretary. The analysis of her assets responds to the role that the Police attribute to her in the daily functioning of the investigated group.
The agents maintain that Alcázar constantly intervened in communications, documentation exchange, and Zapatero's agenda. The order states that she had sufficient knowledge of the influence activities and that her position justifies checking her accounts and assets.
A network of at least 27 companies
The Police estimate at least 27 companies linked to Julio Martínez Martínez. Several share addresses, administrators, very broad corporate purposes, and corporate modifications made on close dates, elements that lead investigators to suspect common control.
During 2020 and 2021, there were no personal accounts in Spain in Martínez's name. Since 2022, he appears as the holder of accounts in Bankinter and CaixaBank with entries whose origin has not yet been fully determined. The UDEF is examining whether in previous years he operated through his companies' accounts, foreign payment methods, or cash.
Several companies registered movements exceeding 1.8 million euros, real estate sales for 600,000 euros, and operations related to luxury vehicles. The report also mentions indications of fictitious invoicing and an email in which one of the interlocutors acknowledged that "it was a fake invoice".
Inteligencia Prospectiva occupies a prominent place within this part of the investigation. The company moved more than 2.6 million euros despite declaring zero or less than 35,000 euros in turnover during some fiscal years. The UDEF believes it received foreign funds through capital increases and then paid 561,440 euros to Whathefav, 368,258 euros to Análisis Relevante, and 266,200 euros to Gate Center.
Softgestor made two other transfers totaling 145,200 euros to Análisis Relevante. The Police consider the contract used to justify the payments artificial and are analyzing this company's relationship with several US companies linked to Venezuela.
Zapatero denies the plot and defends his daughters' work
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero denied any intervention before Calama in the concession of the 53 million euros with which the Government rescued Plus Ultra in 2021. The former president assured during his statement on June 17 that he never spoke with government officials or SEPI to influence the operation.
He also defended the legality of the services provided to Análisis Relevante and maintained that his income was declared to the Treasury. Zapatero rejects that Julio Martínez's companies functioned as a front to pay him commissions and maintains that his work focused on international consulting and advisory services.
The former president has also supported Whathefav's activity and denies that his daughters were used as straw persons. His defense states that the agency performed real communication, advertising, social media management, and professional support work, including services related to Zapatero's own public activity.
Calama refused to impose precautionary measures on him after his statement, despite the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office having requested to withdraw his passport and oblige him to appear every fifteen days. The magistrate considered that his public notoriety reduced the risk of him evading the procedure.
The defense has also tried to obtain the general nullity of the proceedings due to an alleged violation of fundamental rights. The judge rejected that request last week and kept the investigation open, while several procedural decisions remain pending appeal before higher courts.
Financial entities must now send all the requested documentation to Central Investigating Court number 4. The UDEF will cross-reference this data with tax declarations, seized invoices, consulting contracts, and communications recovered during the searches. The result will determine which movements have accredited economic justification and which require new proceedings or explanations from their holders.
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