National Court investigating judge José Luis Calama summoned businessman Julio Martínez Martínez to testify on July 21 in the inquiry into the €53 million state rescue granted to Plus Ultra after the COVID-19 crisis. Martínez, administrator of the consultancy relevant analysis, submitted a written statement on July 20 saying he was willing to cooperate, then appeared before the judge the next day. The inquiry is examining whether intermediaries or influence networks helped secure the public financing.
Martínez told Judge Calama that he regularly passed information about Plus Ultra’s financing needs to former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. “When we started dealing with the request for that financing and loan, I always passed on to President Zapatero the things I was being told that were impressive,” he said, information from reporting on his testimony. Martínez also said Zapatero or Manuel Fajardo may have referred Plus Ultra to him, while maintaining that he did not know what specific steps Zapatero took to assist the airline.
The testimony covered Plus Ultra’s route to financing. Martínez said the airline first sought support through the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), but that effort failed before it applied for the state rescue. He described his role as urging the company to submit the required paperwork diligently and keeping Zapatero informed. The investigation is examining the circumstances of the rescue and the relationships among Martínez, Zapatero and companies linked to Zapatero’s daughters.
Financial links between Martínez’s companies and What the Fav, a communications company linked to Zapatero’s daughters, also came up in the questioning. In 2021, Martínez’s companies paid What the Fav €20,993.50. Martínez told the judge the payment covered the design of a brand for olive oil produced by his agricultural business. The testimony also addressed reported monthly payments of about €3,000 to relevant analysis after the daughters had allegedly stopped working for the consultancy. Calama voiced skepticism about Martínez’s explanation, reportedly telling him: “I don’t believe it. I’m saying openly that I don’t believe it.”
Authorities detained Martínez on December 11 alongside Plus Ultra executives. During a search of his home, the police Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) found €286,070 in cash concealed in several places. Some was hidden in the bathroom and a golf bag, with wardrobes among the other locations. Envelopes marked with Chinese characters translating to “10 thousand” contained €10,000. When brought before the court, Martínez exercised his right not to testify, but said the cash belonged to his family and came partly from a property sale.
The investigation has also examined an alleged payment of about €530,000, equivalent to 1% of the €53 million rescue, reportedly connected to the network under scrutiny. Calama questioned Martínez about why companies associated with that network would receive large sums from Plus Ultra. Martínez denied knowing the details of any alleged commission and said he did not know what Zapatero did. The figure remains an allegation under investigation, not a judicial finding of criminal liability.
The case has drawn attention to payments involving Zapatero and his daughters’ company, as well as the former prime minister’s relationship with Martínez. The judge has not scheduled hearings for Zapatero’s secretary, Gertrudis Alcázar. Nor has he scheduled hearings for his daughters, Alba and Laura Rodríguez Espinosa, who, according to the article’s account, were formally charged shortly after Zapatero’s own court appearance. The proceedings remain investigative; the testimony and judicial questions do not in themselves establish guilt.
