Spain’s High Court judge José Luis Calama has agreed to postpone former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s first appearance as a formal suspect in the Plus Ultra corruption investigation from 2 June to 17-18 June, after Zapatero requested more time to study the case file.
The request was submitted on Tuesday by the former prime minister’s lawyer and swiftly accepted by the judge, who cited the scale of the investigation and ‘the documentary extent of the proceedings’ in a brief ruling setting the new dates. Zapatero is now due to appear before the court at 9am on two consecutive days.
The change came less than 24 hours after Calama handed the parties the full case dossier, consisting of eight volumes and nearly 4,000 pages. The investigation centres on what the judge has described as an alleged ‘organised network of influence peddling’. ALSO READ: Former Spanish PM Zapatero faces corruption probe over airline bailout.
Zapatero, who has denied any wrongdoing, is being investigated over allegations including membership of a criminal organisation, influence trafficking and falsifying documents. It is the first case in modern Spain in which a former prime minister has been formally implicated in a criminal investigation.
Despite the mounting controversy, the Spanish government again defended the principle of presumption of innocence after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting and insisted the €53 million Covid-era rescue package granted to airline Plus Ultra was lawful. ALSO READ: Sánchez rallies behind Zapatero, calls for ‘respect for the presumption of innocence’.
The scandal intensified further after police searches at Zapatero’s Madrid office uncovered a safe containing jewellery, luxury watches and gold chains. According to court documents, investigators seized around 30 items, including Omega watches, bracelets, rings and pendants, from the premises located opposite the headquarters of the ruling PSOE party.
A spokesman for Zapatero said the items were worth between €30,000 and €50,000. His secretary told police the jewellery came partly from an inheritance belonging to Zapatero’s wife, Sonsoles Espinosa, and partly from gifts received during foreign trips.
Nevertheless, the discovery has become one of the most visible symbols of the widening Plus Ultra affair, which is increasingly putting pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government.
Investigators are examining whether political influence was used to help secure the €53 million bailout of Plus Ultra. The airline has long faced scrutiny over alleged links to the Venezuelan government.
The judicial order places Zapatero at the centre of a network in which he allegedly used his political contacts and access to senior officials for the benefit of third parties in exchange for financial gain.
Last Thursday, at the request of Spain’s anti-corruption police unit UDEF, the National Court froze approximately €490,000 belonging to the former premier — an amount equivalent to payments allegedly received from Análisis Relevante, a company considered central to the investigation.
Police and prosecutors believe Zapatero and people close to him may have received around €1.95 million in suspected irregular commissions. Investigators have analysed roughly €2.6 million in transfers through accounts linked to him and his associates between 2020 and 2025.
Zapatero, 65, who led Spain between 2004 and 2011 and was once nicknamed ‘Bambi’ because of his perceived political innocence, appears in police files and WhatsApp conversations under the aliases ‘Zorro’, ‘Z’ and ‘ZZZZ’.
Through his allies and authorised spokesman Luis Arroyo, the former socialist leader has dismissed the accusations as ‘absurd conjectures’ and insisted there is no evidence linking him to a corrupt network.
According to court papers, police also found €286,070 in cash hidden inside the Madrid home of businessman Julio Martínez Martínez, a close associate of Zapatero and one of the central figures in the inquiry. Officers allegedly discovered money concealed in a radiator, bathroom bags, a golf bag and furniture compartments.
Investigators uncovered a January 2021 contract stating that a company linked to Martínez would receive 1% of any state rescue package awarded to Plus Ultra. The agreement was signed two months before the Spanish government approved the bailout.
Police further allege that Zapatero later authorised the creation in Dubai of an offshore company connected to the entity due to receive the commission.
Officers also searched the offices of Wha The Fav, a digital marketing company run by Zapatero’s daughters Laura and Alba. Investigators suspect invoices and consultancy reports issued by the firm may have been used to justify payments moving through the alleged network. Both daughters deny any wrongdoing.
Among the material seized were notebooks from Martínez’s home containing references to Venezuelan oil, gold and political negotiations.
One notebook, carrying the Plus Ultra logo, reportedly mentioned ‘the 2 from the CNI’ — Spain’s intelligence agency — and the phrase ‘Let EG come’, which investigators interpreted as a possible reference to Venezuelan opposition figure Edmundo González returning to Spain.
The investigation originally began after Swiss and French authorities probing suspected money-laundering networks sought assistance from Spain.
The affair is considered particularly damaging for Sánchez because Zapatero has remained an influential figure within Spain’s left and an important informal intermediary in Latin America, especially Venezuela.
Spain’s right-wing People’s Party (PP) and far-right Vox parties have long questioned Zapaero’s relationship with Nicolás Maduro’s government and his involvement in negotiations concerning Venezuelan political figures.
Former socialist prime minister Felipe González, once a mentor to Zapatero but now a critic of Sánchez, has argued that Spain should hold elections this year.
Sánchez, however, continues to publicly back Zapatero, insisting that no definitive evidence has yet demonstrated criminal conduct.
Enjoying the news from Spain in English? Add us as a preferred news source in Google.
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter from Spain in English.
‼️ La UDEF encontró decenas de joyas y relojes en la caja fuerte del despacho de Zapatero https://t.co/fqkQMuxCYx pic.twitter.com/QF3PkdytkG
— laSexta (@laSextaTV) May 25, 2026
Hoy el juez Calama ha decidido aplazar la declaración de Zapatero después de que el expresidente pidiera más tiempo para preparar su defensa
Nos cuenta más @CristinaBlach pic.twitter.com/BOmli1eTD5
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) May 26, 2026
Una semana después de la imputación de Zapatero y tras conocerse las 4.000 páginas del sumario judicial, Moncloa sigue apelando a la presunción de inocencia.
🎙️@AnaMantz pic.twitter.com/Z4Mo49KNqR
— Telediarios de TVE (@telediario_tve) May 26, 2026
Click here to get your business activity or services listed on our DIRECTORY.
Click here for further details on how to ADVERTISE with us.
