Investigation Against Zapatero: How the Plus Ultra Case Targeted the Former Prime Minister. The Spanish prosecutor's office has reopened the Plus Ultra case following requests from France and Switzerland. The focus is on potential money laundering and connections to Venezuelan entities. For the first time, a former head of government has come under investigation.
A major scandal has erupted in Spain: former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has become the first head of government in the country's history to face a criminal investigation. This followed information provided by law enforcement agencies in France and Switzerland in the summer of 2024. These countries turned to the Spanish judiciary for assistance in a case involving an international money laundering network operating through Spain.
Shortly afterwards, the Spanish prosecutor’s office sent counter-requests to Switzerland and France, having found in their files details that could shed light on a previously closed case concerning the allocation of 53 million euros to the airline Plus Ultra. That investigation had been suspended in January 2023 due to a procedural error, but the new information made it possible to reopen the case.
According to information provided by French and Swiss investigators, the case involves a complex scheme that used shell companies, financial intermediaries, and international transfers between Latin America, Europe, and offshore jurisdictions. Particular attention was paid to ties with Venezuelan businessmen suspected of siphoning state funds from the CLAP program and gold operations of the Bank of Venezuela through entities in the UAE.
Key figures mentioned in the materials include brothers Luis Felipe and Enrique Martín Baca Arbulu, citizens of Peru; Dutch national Simon Leendert Verhoeven; Venezuelan Danilo Diazgranados; and Madrid lawyer Miguel Palomero. According to investigators, they managed companies in various countries and served clients, some of whom lived or were present in Spain.
The initial checks by the Spanish UDEF revealed that some clients of this network already had police or judicial cases in Spain. However, the prosecution considered two episodes described in documents from Switzerland and France decisive. The first was correspondence between Diazgranados and Felipe Baca in 2022, discussing a scheme to legalize a large amount of cash received in Venezuela. The second was the testimony of Verhoevenen in Geneva, stating that his companies provided loans to Plus Ultra, with no documented confirmation of repayment.
On this basis, the Spanish Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office initiated a new investigation to determine whether state subsidies were used for money laundering related to crimes in Venezuela. The case materials mention Rodolfo Reyes, who, according to French sources, may have been involved in transporting gold to Dubai via the airline Coyne Airways.
In November 2025, the prosecutor’s office had already mentioned serious indications that Plus Ultra might have been involved in money laundering schemes. Investigators were also interested in the company Análisis Relevante, associated with Julio Martínez Martínez, which received large sums from Plus Ultra. This line of investigation led the investigators to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
Earlier, the case files already included information about Zapatero’s contacts with the leadership of Plus Ultra and their discussion of financial matters, which was thoroughly examined in a publication by russpain.com about the details of meetings and negotiations between the former prime minister and the airline’s representatives: details of the meetings between Zapatero and Plus Ultra.
For reference: Plus Ultra is a Spanish airline that received government support during the pandemic. The CLAP program in Venezuela is a food distribution system that has repeatedly been the subject of investigations over suspected corruption. Noor Capital PSC is a UAE-based company involved in international gold schemes. The Plus Ultra case became one of the most high-profile examples of possible use of government aid for laundering funds of questionable origin in Spain.
