The three crimes charged against Zapatero that could result in up to eight years in prison
Former president Zapatero will appear on 2 June before the National Court on charges of criminal organisation, abuse of influence and document falsification in the Plus Ultra case.
Zapatero, charged with three crimes in the Plus Ultra case
Former Government President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will have to answer before the National Court on 2 June for his alleged involvement in a money-laundering case linked to the rescue of airline Plus Ultra. According to ABC, judge José Luis Calama is investigating him for three crimes: membership in a criminal organisation, abuse of influence and document falsification.
Criminal organisation: 3 to 8 years
The first charge is membership in a criminal organisation, a category that the Penal Code reserves for groups of more than two persons with a stable or indefinite character that, in a concerted and coordinated manner, distribute tasks with the aim of committing crimes.
The distinction with a criminal group is significant: the latter is a lower-ranking structure, of an occasional nature, without formal hierarchy or indefinite permanence. Classification as a criminal organisation entails more severe penalties.
Convictions for this crime range between 3 and 8 years in prison, depending on the severity of the crimes pursued by the organisation. If the purpose is the commission of serious crimes, the sentence ranges from 4 to 8 years; in other cases, from 3 to 6 years. Article 570 bis of the Penal Code separately sanctions those who actively participate or cooperate with the organisation: from 2 to 5 years if serious crimes are intended to be committed, or from 1 to 3 years in other cases. Sentences are applied in their upper half when the organisation has a high number of members or has access to weapons or advanced technological means.
Abuse of influence: fine and up to two years
The second crime under investigation is abuse of influence, one of the most pursued offences in the area of corruption within Spanish public administration. The conduct consists of a person, sheltered behind a position of hierarchical superiority or in a real or fictitious proximity to political, economic or judicial power, attempting to influence an authority or public official to obtain an economic benefit for themselves or for a third party.
The Spanish Penal Code regulates this offence in articles 428, 429 and 430. For criminal liability to exist, it is not necessary for the influence to take effect; it is sufficient that the pressure be exerted, regardless of whether the person being pressured adopts the intended decision or not.
The penalties for authorities and public officials acting as influencers range from 6 to 24 months in prison, in addition to a fine proportional to the economic benefit sought or obtained. When the crime is committed by a private individual—as is the case with Zapatero, who no longer holds public office—the sanction is limited to a fine equally proportional to the benefit sought.
Document falsification: up to 3 years, or up to 8 in aggravated cases
The third charge is document falsification, which occurs when someone alters essential elements of a genuine document to make it false, or creates a new document based on a false fact. The Spanish Penal Code defines as a document any material medium that expresses or incorporates data, facts or narratives with probative efficacy or legal relevance.
Being investigated as a private individual and not as a public authority, Zapatero faces prison sentences of 6 months to 3 years and fines of 6 to 12 months in the event of falsification of public documents. Falsification of certificates and private documents entails a fine of 3 to 6 months. In cases of falsification of credit or debit cards, traveller's cheques and other payment instruments, the sentence rises to 4 to 8 years in prison.
The origin: the devices of Plus Ultra's adviser
The charge of the three crimes came after investigators analysed the devices of Julio Martínez Martínez, adviser to Plus Ultra. The Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of the National Police followed that trail and examined the communications that the former president maintained on a constant basis with him.
The operational activity detected raises suspicion of a mechanism created with the aim of laundering capital, according to sources in the investigation cited by ABC. In the context of that inquiry, the UDEF would have searched the offices of companies linked to the scheme, among which would be the office of the former president himself.
Source: ABC