The jewels are valued at 1.3 million euros. Zapatero says they were a gift from Saudi King Abdullah in June 2007. Vicente Vallés questions whether that explanation can withstand scrutiny.
Vicente Vallés has questioned José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's explanation for jewellery valued at 1.3 million euros that investigators found in his professional office. The former president says the pieces were a gift from Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud in June 2007 at Moncloa. That account is now central to an investigation into alleged tax and smuggling offences.
The Antena 3 Noticias 2 director says Zapatero's legal strategy shows how difficult it has been for the former president to answer the accusations. According to Vallés, the defence appears focused less on securing an acquittal than on seeking the annulment of the proceedings because of procedural defects or arguing that the alleged offences have expired.
The jewellery set was provisionally valued at 1,323,915 euros by the Ansorena jewellery house. Reports say the expert assessment also involved the Spanish Gemmological Institute.
The jewels are not the most serious issue in the case from Vallés's perspective. They are still the most striking because the account of where they came from has changed.
As ABC reported through journalist Juanma Poderoso, Zapatero's representatives now describe the pieces as a gesture of courtesy, respect and gratitude from the Saudi monarch. The defence says they were kept with family jewellery and gifts from friends. Zapatero never used them because he did not know their material value, according to that account. The collection includes rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds, among other materials.
The explanation conflicts with the earlier account attributed to the former president's entourage after the jewellery was found. At that point, the items were described as costume jewellery inherited from the family. Their Saudi origin was denied.
Vallés has also pointed out that Abdullah died in 2015 and cannot contradict Zapatero's version. EFE and La Voz de Galicia reported that the defence asked the court to seek international judicial assistance from Saudi Arabia to verify the alleged gift. At the time of those reports, there was no confirmation from the Saudi side.
Several agencies and news outlets have reported the gift claim. Their accounts rely on a written statement from Zapatero's defence, not on a document from Saudi authorities.
Another problem concerns the handover of more than 500 pieces of Patrimonio belonging to the former president when he left Moncloa. Other jewellery and gifts were included in that delivery, including additional presents from the Saudi monarchy. These pieces were not. That omission has become part of the questions about their provenance and their absence from the declared collection.
The defence is challenging not only the jewels' provenance but also the valuation itself. Reports say the court requested an additional expert assessment and gave Zapatero a short period to provide documents concerning where the pieces came from.
The defence is challenging the valuation as well as the jewellery's origin. Reports say the lawyers do not accept Ansorena's figure. They argue that the actual value could be lower, or that the assessment was not sufficiently impartial.
According to jurists consulted by ABC, Zapatero would need an official certificate from the Saudi royal court confirming that the gift was made. The former president has contacted the Saudi court twice without receiving a response so far.
His defence has asked Audiencia Nacional judge José Luis Calama to make a formal request for international judicial cooperation through letters rogatory. That request has not been issued to date.
The court reportedly gave Zapatero a short period to provide documents about the jewellery's origin. The judge also ordered an additional expert assessment. El Español reported that Zapatero's daughters were called to a hearing on 30 November.
The investigation also concerns the rescue of Plus Ultra. The proceedings remain open while the court examines the allegations and Zapatero's explanations. Judge José Luis Calama has opened a separate line of proceedings into possible tax and customs violations linked to the jewellery's origin and importation.
The legal strength of the jewellery defence now depends on evidence that does not appear to exist in the case. Vallés's political assessment is more immediate. The changing explanations and the lack of confirmation from Saudi Arabia have weakened Zapatero's public position.
Until the provenance is formally supported or rejected, the main issue is not the value of the jewels alone. It is the gap between the successive accounts and the missing official proof.
