The judge Calama rejects another appeal from Zapatero and maintains the tracing of his accounts in the 'Plus Ultra case'

The judge of the Audiencia Nacional José Luis Calama has dismissed this Monday another of the appeals presented by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero against the investigation of his bank accounts and those of his circle. The decision allows the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) to continue gathering information on the financial products of the former president, his daughters Alba and Laura, and his secretary, Gertrudis Alcázar.

All of them are listed as investigated in the case opened for alleged irregularities in the rescue of 53 million euros granted to Plus Ultra during the pandemic. Calama is trying to clarify whether Zapatero led an alleged influence peddling network that would have intervened in the processing of public aid.

The defense had asked to limit the authorization considering that it could violate the right to privacy and effective judicial protection. It also demanded to narrow the period analyzed, restrict access to communications with financial entities, and reinforce control over the information that the Police could select.

Calama rules out an unlimited banking investigation

The magistrate maintains that the UDEF will only be able to request complementary or clarifying data on the banking products already identified. The authorization is limited to the investigated facts and, according to the order, "excludes any prospective or unlinked inquiry" from the case.

Calama considers the examined period proportionate and understands that communications maintained with banks may be necessary to reconstruct financial operations. The information will continue to be incorporated into a reserved section to protect intimate data and transfer to the main procedure only those that are of interest to the investigation.

The instructor also notes a "contradiction" in Zapatero's position, since during his statement he expressed with "appreciable forcefulness" a broad authorization for his accounts to be examined and subsequently appealed the scope of the investigations.

The 1% payment that marks the day

The resolution was known hours after the statement of Julio Martínez Sola, former president and main shareholder of Plus Ultra. The businessman has acknowledged before Calama that the company paid 530,000 euros, equivalent to 1% of the rescue, for an alleged mediation attributed to the so-called 'Zapatero Group'.

According to his version, the agreement was reached with businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, who would have contacted the airline after a call from Zapatero himself. Martínez Sola has admitted that he was unaware of the specific steps taken to obtain the aid and explained that the company paid because it understood that there was an intermediation. "When in doubt, I paid," he declared before the judge.

Zapatero has denied both that call and any intervention or influence in the granting of the rescue. He has also defended the legality of his professional work. Martínez Sola's statements are part of a judicial declaration and must be contrasted with banking documentation, police reports, and the rest of the testimonies.

The round of appearances will continue this Tuesday with the former CEO of Plus Ultra Roberto Roselli, called to provide new details about the accounts and payments under investigation.