José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero told a judge that Saudi King Abdalá bin Abdulaziz gave him the jewels in 2007. Their value, arrival in Spain and tax treatment remain under investigation.
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero told a judge that Saudi King Abdalá bin Abdulaziz personally gave him jewels found in his office in 2007. The pieces are worth around 1.3 million euros. They were never declared to Hacienda. Investigators are now examining how they entered Spain and how they should have been treated for tax purposes.
The former prime minister says the king gave him the jewels at his residence in the Palacio de la Moncloa. He describes it as a strictly personal gesture. That account differs from earlier versions, which described the delivery as part of an official protocol.
According to the account submitted by Zapatero’s defence, the gift was handed over in Madrid during King Abdalá bin Abdulaziz’s official visit on 18–19 June 2007.
The case also involves a rule approved while Zapatero was prime minister. The Código de Buen Gobierno came into force in 2005. It required officeholders to reject gifts beyond normal customary use. Gifts with greater institutional significance had to be transferred to Patrimonio del Estado.
Zapatero has not produced outside documents proving that the handover took place. He has asked the Embassy of Saudi Arabia to certify it instead. Investigators are also examining who brought the jewels into Spain and who actually owned them.
The collection includes rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Zapatero says he did not know what they were worth. He also says they stayed stored away, unused and without any assigned purpose. Spanish public broadcaster RTVE reported that his defence is seeking official confirmation from Saudi authorities rather than relying only on his account.
The case is being handled by National Court judge José Luis Calama within an investigation connected to the Plus Ultra affair. The court is examining both the jewels’ possible entry into Spain and their potential tax consequences; an official Saudi response could therefore be important for establishing their origin.
Investigators must also decide whether the jewels could be linked to a smuggling offence. Their tax treatment is a separate central issue. That includes any effect on the former prime minister’s personal income tax and wealth tax declarations. La Vanguardia reported that the inquiry covers both a possible customs offence and potential tax offences.
Zapatero says he received the jewels in June 2007. That date could bring a possible personal income tax evasion issue closer to prescription. It does not settle the wealth tax question. Investigators will need to examine the net assets and applicable minimum thresholds in the declarations filed, including the fiscal value given to the pieces.
Pedro Sánchez defended Zapatero by saying that the rule requiring valuable gifts to be rejected or handed to the state did not exist in 2007. The record cited in the case contradicts that claim. The Código de Buen Gobierno was approved in 2005 and was already in force.
The court must now establish more than who gave the jewels. It must determine how they entered Spain, who controlled them and what they were worth. It must also decide whether receiving them created legal or tax obligations. Until those points are documented, the personal-gift explanation remains an assertion, not proof. The case also shows the gap between public ethics rules and the private handling of a fortune kept in an official setting.
