MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Wednesday, June 17th 2026 - 08:31 UTC
The magistrate attributes to him the alleged offenses of criminal organization, influence peddling, money laundering and documentary falsification
Spain's former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero appeared on Wednesday before Judge José Luis Calama, of the Audiencia Nacional, as an investigated person in the Plus Ultra case, in what constitutes an unprecedented event in Spanish democracy: it is the first time a former head of the Executive sits before a magistrate as a suspect. He will answer questions from the judge and his lawyer, but not from the Anti-Corruption prosecutor.
The magistrate attributes to him the alleged offenses of criminal organization, influence peddling, money laundering and documentary falsification. In his ruling, he places him at the “apex” of an influence structure that allegedly facilitated the €53 million bailout that Pedro Sánchez's government granted in 2021 to the airline Plus Ultra during the pandemic. The commissions allegedly received by the former president and his circle are estimated at between two and four million euros, channeled, according to the investigation, through companies linked to him and his daughters.
