Spain’s former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been placed under formal investigation by Spain’s National Court over alleged influence peddling, money laundering and other possible offences linked to the controversial state bailout of the airline Plus Ultra during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The unprecedented case marks the first time since Spain’s return to democracy following the death of dictator Franco in 1975 that a former Spanish prime minister has been formally investigated in a corruption-related criminal inquiry.
Judge José Luis Calama of the National Court is examining the circumstances surrounding the PSOE socialist-led government’s decision to grant Plus Ultra a €53 million public loan in March 2021 from a fund designed to support strategic companies hit by the Covid crisis.
The airline, which specialises in routes between Spain, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador, was required to qualify as a strategic company in order to receive the rescue package.
The bailout immediately sparked political controversy, with opposition parties questioning both the airline’s financial health and its links to Venezuelan investors. Critics argued it was unclear whether Plus Ultra represented a strategically important asset for Spain.
Zapatero, who served as prime minister between 2004 and 2011 and remains a prominent figure within the ruling PSOE party of current PM Pedro Sánchez, has now been summoned to testify before the court on 2 June.
Police officers acting on judicial warrants searched Zapatero’s Madrid office on Tuesday, while Spanish media reports said three additional premises were also searched, including properties linked to his daughters.
The investigation forms part of a broader inquiry into whether funds linked to Plus Ultra — an airline founded in Spain but heavily reliant on Venezuelan financing — were used in an alleged international money-laundering scheme after the bailout was approved in 2021.
Prosecutors are reportedly also examining possible offences including alleged criminal organisation, document falsification and influence peddling.
The National Court formally took over the case earlier this year after prosecutors argued the alleged operation had international dimensions involving Switzerland and France.
Investigators intensified scrutiny of Zapatero after analysing electronic devices seized from businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, described in reports as a longtime associate and business partner of the former prime minister.
According to judicial sources cited by Spanish media, investigators suspect a possible network may have been used to channel and conceal funds linked to the airline rescue operation.
Spanish media have also reported that investigators are examining payments totalling more than €400,000 allegedly made over several years to Zapatero for consultancy work connected to Martínez Martínez’s company, Analisis Relevante.
Zapatero has strongly denied wrongdoing. During a Senate appearance in March, he insisted he ‘never received any commissions from Plus Ultra’. He has also maintained that all consultancy payments were properly invoiced and declared to Spain’s tax authorities.
The former premier had already left public office a decade before Plus Ultra received the state rescue package. Since leaving government, he has focused much of his international activity on maintaining dialogue with Venezuela’s left-wing government, which became increasingly isolated from many Western countries following crackdowns on the democratic opposition.
The case is expected to increase pressure on Sánchez’s government, which has already been shaken by a series of corruption scandals involving senior PSOE figures and close political allies. ALSO READ: Trial of Spanish PM’s brother for alleged corruption postponed until late May.
Zapatero remains politically influential inside Sánchez’s circle and has reportedly played a key behind-the-scenes role for the government in sensitive negotiations, including contacts involving Catalan pro-independence leader Carles Puigdemont.
The right-wing opposition People’s Party (PP) has repeatedly criticised Zapatero’s ties to Venezuela and demanded explanations from both him and Sánchez. Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo accused the socialist administration of being engulfed by scandal. ALSO READ: Businessman seeks to implicate Sánchez in corruption trial as PSOE vow legal action over ‘slander’.
PP spokesman, Miguel Tellado, said: ‘The government must provide explanations immediately. The whole thing is falling apart and the ringleaders of the scheme are starting to fall.’ ALSO READ: Spain’s main opposition party claims the ruling socialists are in ‘irreversible decline’.
Emiliano García-Page, the PSOE president of the Castilla-La Mancha regional government, admitted his surprise at the development, telling a radio station: ‘I’m stunned.’
Spanish newspaper El País described the investigation as ‘a devastating blow to the heart of the Sánchez camp’, adding that senior PSOE figures were ‘scrambling for information to try to understand what has happened’.
The newspaper added: ‘Zapatero is not your typical former prime minister who has retired from politics. He is still active and is a person of the utmost trust to Prime Minister Sánchez, and is in fact a major asset to the Sánchez camp. The government is convinced of Zapatero’s innocence and is already working on his defence strategy.’
The investigation remains under judicial secrecy and is expected to continue at least until 28 May.
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José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, imputado por Plus Ultra. @GarciaFrigenti cuenta los detalles en el #Canal24horas https://t.co/Za7ufwRJkN pic.twitter.com/3mplnC9c9I
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) May 19, 2026
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