Former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has told the judge in the Plus Ultra airline bailout case that his wife, Sonsoles Espinosa, has nothing to do with the investigation, even as the judge has ordered a review of bank accounts the couple share.
Judge José Luis Calama of the Audiencia Nacional, Spain's National Court, has pointed to Whathefav, a company run by Zapatero's daughters, as an alleged vehicle for masking commissions tied to Zapatero's influence peddling. Zapatero defended his daughters' work for Análisis Relevante, a company owned by his friend Julio Martínez, known as Julito. Despite that defense, Calama went on to charge both daughters, Alba and Laura.
Secretary also charged
A similar pattern played out with Zapatero's secretary, Gertrudis Alcázar, a person he described as among his most trusted aides. Conversations and messages of hers surfaced after investigators tapped Zapatero's diary, which Zapatero said violated his right to privacy. As with his daughters, that argument did not stop Calama from charging Alcázar as well.
Wife's accounts under review
Espinosa remains formally outside the list of people under investigation, even though the judge has ordered Spain's Economic and Fiscal Crimes Unit, UDEF, to analyze bank accounts she shares with her husband. As he did with his daughters and his secretary, Zapatero is arguing that his wife should be kept out of the judicial investigation.
In the latest filing sent to the Audiencia Nacional, Zapatero's lawyer, Víctor Moreno Catena, objected to Calama's decision to examine the bank accounts. The lawyer said the measure amounted to a complete financial review covering six and a half years of Zapatero's life, from January 2020 to the present, and said it also affects five other people and thirteen companies. Moreno Catena specified that the measure covers Zapatero's two daughters, his secretary, and a third person he described as unrelated to the case, a reference to Espinosa. The sixth person whose accounts are under scrutiny is businessman Julio Martínez, who has been charged.
Tax inspection dispute
Although Espinosa has not been charged, Calama does consider her part of the proceedings when it comes to a separate tax investigation, which the judge has so far limited to the discovery of jewelry in Zapatero's office. In a ruling dated July 30, Calama rejected a request to suspend the tax inspection opened by Spain's Tax Agency, Hacienda, while the judicial investigation continues. The ruling notes that lawyers representing Zapatero, Espinosa and their daughters, along with the daughters' company, filed submissions on July 7 asking, as the Tax Agency itself had requested, for a halt to Hacienda's verification and investigation proceedings. Without being formally a party to the case, Espinosa was still able to make submissions regarding Hacienda's request to pause its inspection in favor of the National Court's judicial investigation.
Plus Ultra shareholding examined
Calama is continuing his investigation into the Plus Ultra bailout, in which Zapatero remains charged. The judge has asked UDEF to detail the airline's shareholding history since its founding, in order to assess the impact of what the filing describes as Venezuelan capital allegedly invested in the company.
