Police find jewellery, cash and documents in searches linked to former president Zapatero
The investigation into the alleged influence-trafficking network connected to the state rescue of Plus Ultra airline has intensified. Officers found numerous jewels, documents and large quantities of cash.
Police find jewellery, cash and documents in searches linked to former president Zapatero
The investigation into the alleged influence-trafficking network connected to the state rescue of Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas airline during the pandemic has taken a new turn. Spanish police officers carried out residential searches in which they found valuable jewellery, extensive documentation and substantial sums of cash in properties linked to former government president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
Acting on the order of the National Court, investigators accessed Zapatero's office in Madrid, where they located a safe containing jewellery and watches. Among the items found, according to Euronews, were necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets and watches, some of them engraved. The former president's secretary explained that the jewels formed part of his wife's inheritance. In addition to the jewellery, officers seized hard drives, folders and documents relating to companies, contracts and invoices, as well as personal diaries from the 2019–2025 period. Two employees reportedly provided passwords for the electronic devices voluntarily.
Zapatero maintains that all of this is his personal property and clarifies that he used the safe in his office for security reasons after moving to a rented flat where the couple lacked this facility. The former leader describes the case as a form of political pressure and prefers to provide his explanations to the investigating judge.
In a simultaneous search of the home of businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, a friend of Zapatero and alleged intermediary, police discovered 286,070 euros in cash. The money was scattered throughout the house: in handbags, boxes, drawers, a wash bag and even inside a radiator. Several watches and mobile phones were also seized. The banknotes, mostly 50-euro notes, were hidden in different locations, which, according to police, could indicate an intention to conceal the origin of the funds.
The core of the investigation is an alleged influence-trafficking network linked to public aid of 53 million euros that the airline Plus Ultra received during the pandemic, according to Euronews. Officers from the economic crime unit UDEF determined that Martínez received nearly 600,000 euros through three companies which, according to investigators, acted as intermediaries to divert funds. The detectives emphasise that these companies had no employees or contractual collaborators during the years in which they received these transfers.
Source: 24ur.com
Source: 24ur