Zapatero Charged with Money Laundering

It is the first former president indicted in democratic Spain

The Central Court of Instruction No. 4 of the National Court has summoned former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero as an accused on June 2 for criminal organization, influence peddling and falsification in the case investigating alleged illegal commission payments in the rescue of the airline Plus Ultra.

At this time the former head of government’s office and three other commercial premises are being searched, according to legal sources who informed EFE.

This is the first time in democratic Spain that a former Prime Minister has been indicted by the courts.

The indictment was decided by Judge José Luis Calama, who on March 3 assumed jurisdiction over the case that investigates a possible money‑laundering offence at Plus Ultra and extended the investigation deadline to May 28.

In 2024, the Anti‑Corruption Office, together with the Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) of the National Police, discovered that the rescue money could have been used to launder funds originating from Venezuelan corruption.

At the time, the magistrate of Instruction Court No. 15 in Madrid investigated the €53 million rescue of the airline, but eventually closed the case with the backing of the Provincial Court of Madrid.

The case was reopened at the request of the Anti‑Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, after which the judge recused herself in favor of the National Court.

After more than a year of investigation, in December 2025 the president of Plus Ultra, Julio Martínez Sola; the CEO, Roberto Roselli; a lawyer; and businessman Javier Martínez Martínez were detained – and later released – by UDEF agents in an operation driven by the Anti‑Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.

During this operation several UDEF agents visited the airline’s headquarters to gather fiscal information on the company, an analysis that led the judge to consider that the matter has broader implications than those initially outlined in the complaint.