Zapatero Summoned to Court in International Influence and Transfer Scheme Case. The former Spanish prime minister is at the center of a major investigation. The court is examining ties to Plus Ultra, gold and oil deals, as well as transfers through entities linked to Venezuela and China.
A new phase has begun in Spain's high-profile investigation centered on former Prime Minister and ex-PSOE leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. He has been summoned to the National Court on suspicion of heading a structure that investigators consider an organized influence network with international connections. According to EL PAÍS, the case file spans thousands of pages and covers operations involving gold, oil, and large monetary transfers linked to companies from Venezuela and China.
Investigators claim that Zapatero may have led a stable mediation scheme for economic gain, primarily in the interests of the airline Plus Ultra. Searches have already been conducted at his office and at What The Fav, a company belonging to his daughters. Documents, electronic media, as well as a safe containing jewelry and watches have been seized. According to Zapatero's representatives, these valuables were family possessions and unrelated to the transactions under investigation.
Judge José Luis Calama, who is presiding over the case, refused to authorize a search of the former prime minister's home but permitted access to his work correspondence from recent years. Investigators have focused on 174 banking transactions totaling €2.6 million, as well as transfers from companies linked to China and Venezuela. Particularly notable is a payment of €490,780 received from the consulting firm Análisis Relevante, which the court has already frozen in Zapatero's accounts.
The case materials also mention other participants in the scheme. Investigators consider businessman Julio Martínez Martínez a key link, through whom, according to the police, significant sums passed, including funds from Plus Ultra and the Venezuelan company Inteligencia Prospectiva. During searches, large amounts of cash were found at Martínez’s premises, some hidden in unusual places, as well as documents pointing to possible deals involving oil and gold. One of the records mentions the Bandes bank, which is connected to Venezuela.
The investigation extends beyond Spain: the court is cooperating with French and Swiss authorities in cases of possible money laundering. An international warrant has already been issued for Plus Ultra owner Rodolfo Reyes, while earlier, businessman Felipe Baca was detained and extradited. The case materials mention negotiations on oil and gold supplies involving Chinese entities and Swiss intermediaries. As noted by EL PAÍS, Zapatero's own role in these episodes has yet to be determined, but his name repeatedly appears in the correspondence of those involved as a possible intermediary.
Attention to the case has intensified following the publication of new details about the connections between Zapatero’s structures, Venezuelan businessmen, and transfers through affiliated companies. Earlier, russpain.com reported on Julio Martínez’s longstanding contacts with the Amaro Chacón brothers and operations involving Venezuelan raw materials — more details can be found in the article on supply schemes and transfers through structures linked to Zapatero.
For reference: Plus Ultra is a Spanish airline that received government support during the pandemic. Bandes Bank is a Venezuelan state development bank involved in a number of international investigations. In recent years, Spanish courts have paid special attention to money laundering schemes involving foreign companies and transfers linked to Latin American and Asian entities.
