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The central investigative court number 4 of the National Court has charged former Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero this Tuesday with organized crime, influence peddling, and document forgery in the case investigating the alleged money laundering linked to the public bailout of 53 million euros granted to the airline Plus Ultra after the pandemic.
This is the first time in the history of Spanish democracy that a former president of the government has been charged in a corruption case. According to El País, Judge José Luis Calama has summoned Zapatero to testify on June 2nd.
Simultaneously with the indictment, agents from the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of the National Police searched the former president's office on Ferraz Street in Madrid, the company of his daughters 'What the Fav', the company Inteligencia Prospectiva S.L. —controlled by the Venezuelan family Amaro Chacón— and the law firm Softgestor.
In the search of Zapatero's office, agents from the Technical Intervention Operational Group (GOIT) participated. This specialized unit focuses on opening safes and locating hidden, non-visible caches, and they entered the premises with tool kits.
At the center of the plot is the consulting firm Análisis Relevante S.L., established in February 2020 by the Alicante businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, a personal friend of Zapatero with whom he shared business interests.
That consulting firm invoiced Plus Ultra around 460,000 euros over five years and, in turn, paid the former president approximately 463,000 euros gross for "global consulting" services.
Zapatero himself publicly acknowledged having received more than 400,000 euros during that period, claiming that he performed legitimate consulting work and that the income was declared to the tax authorities.
The investigation also points to the existence of a contract between Plus Ultra and Julio Martínez, which granted him a 1% commission if the Government fully disbursed the aid of 53 million, a document that is believed to have been found on the computers seized by the UDEF.
The investigators also requested information from SEPI—the agency that approved the bailout—and from the Chinese construction company Aldesa, which points to indications of influence peddling attributed to the former president.
The case has its origins in 2024, when the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the UDEF began investigating the whereabouts of the ransom money after receiving requests for information from Switzerland and France regarding alleged money laundering in those territories.
On December 11, 2025, the UDEF raided the headquarters of Plus Ultra and arrested its president, Julio Martínez Sola, and its CEO, Roberto Roselli.
That court eventually archived the case, but Judge Calama took over on March 3, considering that the matter had broader implications, and has just ordered the lifting of the confidentiality of the proceedings.
The airline Plus Ultra, with a strong Venezuelan presence in its shareholding structure, has been the subject of controversy since its rescue was approved in 2021, as it is a small company with questions regarding its viability prior to the pandemic.
The news sparked an intense political reaction in Spain. The Secretary General of the Popular Party, Miguel Tellado, described the accusation as "extremely serious" given that it concerns the "main advisor to Sánchez" and demanded the appearance of the Prime Minister: "The heads of the scheme are starting to fall," he stated.
The leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, stated that a motion of no confidence against Pedro Sánchez is "necessary," while the parliamentary spokesperson for Sumar, Verónica Barbero, expressed "doubts" regarding the accusation: "We are missing a lot of information," she pointed out.
The PSOE defended Zapatero's presumption of innocence and hinted at a judicial persecution orchestrated by the right. The party spokesperson, Montse Mínguez, wrote on X: "They will not stop."
In addition to Zapatero, those under investigation include the president of Plus Ultra Julio Martínez Sola, the CEO Roberto Roselli, the company's lawyer Santiago Fernández Lena, another lawyer from Madrid, and the Peruvian banker Luis Felipe Baca.
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