Zapatero asks Judge Calama to withdraw the blank check to the UDEF to investigate his accounts

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero accepts that the UDEF reviews his accounts, but wants the judge to decide how far the Police can go. The former President of the Government has filed a new appeal to prevent investigators from expanding the requested banking information on their own within the "Plus Ultra case".

The defense is directed against a specific phrase in the order signed by José Luis Calama. The magistrate allowed the Central Unit of Economic and Fiscal Crime to "expand the information deemed pertinent" on the banking products examined, an authorization that Zapatero's lawyer considers too open for a proceeding that affects fundamental rights.

The appeal asks to eliminate that permission and obliges the UDEF to go back to the instructor when it needs more documentation. Each expansion would have to receive prior judicial authorization, although the agents would retain the possibility of requesting all additional proceedings they deem necessary to advance the investigation.

The defense demands prior judicial control

The defense of the former president has also requested the precautionary suspension of the authorization granted to the UDEF and of the requests sent to the banks until Calama resolves the appeal. Its immediate objective is to prevent the Police from receiving and analyzing all the documentation while the discussion about its limits remains open.

Zapatero also questions that the order extends to the "internal communications" of financial entities and their exchanges with clients. His lawyer argues that this material may contain private conversations, data of third parties and matters completely unrelated to the procedure.

The other front is in the dates. Calama requested information from January 1, 2020, to the present, while the defense considers that the movements that the UDEF intends to check reach at most until December 2025. The appeal demands that this month become the final limit of the proceeding.

The difference means several more months of banking activity for all affected individuals and companies. According to the brief, the order will allow obtaining "a complete financial photograph" of six and a half years of the life of six natural persons and thirteen commercial entities, including Zapatero's two daughters, his secretary and another person unrelated to the procedure.

The former president also warns again of the risk of leaks. His defense recalls the publication of personal agendas and communications previously incorporated into the case and considers that the new banking documentation may expose intimate data unrelated to the investigated facts.

Calama agreed to keep all information in a reserved section and subsequently purge irrelevant data. Zapatero shares this caution, although he rejects that the expurgation remains solely in the hands of the same police unit that supports the accusatory hypothesis.

His lawyer asks that the lawyer of the Administration of Justice direct this selection under the supervision of the judge. He also demands that the UDEF reports include movements that may support those investigated and not only those that fit the police thesis.

More than 60 accounts under scrutiny

The appealed order considerably expanded the economic tracing of the "Plus Ultra case". As published by 'ElConstitucional.es', Calama authorized access to more than 60 bank accounts related to Zapatero, his family, Julio Martínez Martínez and several companies examined by the Audiencia Nacional.

The order covers six accounts of the former president, nine of his daughters, seven of his secretary, two of Julio Martínez and another 33 belonging to companies. A dozen financial entities must provide opening documents, account holders, authorized persons, statements, transfers, investments, safe deposit boxes and other products linked to these positions.

The UDEF intends to use this documentation to verify several movements previously detected through tax information. Investigators suspect that companies related to Julio Martínez may have channeled payments to Zapatero and his daughters' company, a hypothesis that is still pending verification during the investigation.

Among the movements analyzed are the 490,780 euros paid to the former president by Análisis Relevante between 2020 and 2025 and the 447,095 euros transferred by Whathefav to the personal accounts of Alba and Laura Rodríguez Espinosa. Zapatero maintains that his income comes from duly invoiced consulting work, conferences, and advice, while his daughters defend the real activity of their communication agency.

The defense uses precisely that argument to accept the bank verification. It considers that the complete movements can dispel the police thesis about the alleged channeling of payments, provided that the diligence is linked to the specific facts of the case and does not extend to the entire economic life of those investigated.

The investigation examines Zapatero's alleged intervention in the negotiations that preceded the public loan of 53 million euros granted to Plus Ultra in 2021. The former president denies having spoken with the Government or SEPI to favor the airline and maintains his "absolute innocence".

Calama must now decide whether to fully maintain her authorization, limit the period investigated, or require the UDEF to request permission before collecting new information. Until the judge rules on the precautionary suspension, the order to track the accounts remains in force.