Madrid, June 24 (EFE).- A new police report alleged that former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (2004-2011) lobbied Bolivian authorities to benefit “the interests” of the Peruvian business group Gloria in exchange for a 200,000 euros payment.
The Spanish Police’s Central Unit for Economic and Fiscal Crime (UDEF) considered “proven” that Zapatero arranged a meeting between the Bolivian Minister of Justice and executives of the Peruvian Gloria Group, which was facing multimillion-dollar lawsuits with the Bolivian state over unfair competition, as detailed in the report accessed by EFE.
According to the police dossier, dated Jun. 22, “this influence was allegedly exerted on authorities of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and in return, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero allegedly received 200,000 euros from the Peruvian company Focus Social Research.”
Investigators noted that Zapatero and Focus Social Research allegedly signed a contract for consulting services; however, the UDEF concluded, based on the analyzed conversations, that the services provided had no relation to the company’s corporate purpose, which is marketing, and, therefore, it was used as a “front company.”
