(Adnkronos) – Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is under investigation for influence peddling and other crimes in relation to the bailout of the small airline Plus Ultra. The judge of the Audiencia Nacional, Jose Luis Calama, announced the measure against the former socialist prime minister, who led the government between 2004 and 2011, summoned to testify on June 2, after police carried out searches in his offices and those of three other unspecified companies. While other Spanish prime ministers have been called to testify in corruption cases in the past, this is the first time in modern Spanish history that a former prime minister has been formally placed under investigation.
Zapatero, initially not aligned with Pedro Sanchez, has in recent years become one of the main defenders of the current Spanish prime minister, and therefore his involvement in a judicial inquiry is set to increase pressure on the socialist leader, already weakened by other corruption investigations involving family members and political allies.
At the center of the investigation involving Zapatero is the emergency loan of 53 million euros granted in March 2021, using funds allocated for the Covid pandemic, to Plus Ultra, a Spanish airline that operated flights to Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela with a small fleet of Airbus A340s. The opposition raised criticisms against the legitimacy of the intervention for a company with such limited activity and ties to business interests in Venezuela.
According to Spanish media reports, they are investigating whether a consulting firm connected to a person linked to Zapatero played an intermediary role in the financial transaction now under scrutiny, with the possibility of commissions or other related financial flows. Zapatero has repeatedly denied ever receiving payments from Plus Ultra, which is based in Madrid but has many of its shareholders in Venezuela, and of having committed any illicit actions.
The Popular Party immediately attacked the socialists, stating that Zapatero is “Sanchez’s muse,” “both have used their families to enrich themselves and both have degraded the institutions they represent.” The new judicial developments come after the heavy defeat suffered by the socialists in the regional elections in Andalusia, once a stronghold where they obtained just 28 of the 109 seats in the regional Parliament on Sunday.
The socialist party defended Zapatero, dismissing the investigation as politically motivated, recalling how during his mandate the former prime minister carried out “an ambitious plan to extend rights, equality, and social protection. The right and the far-right will never forgive him for this.”
