Former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, under investigation for corruption, said Thursday that luxury jewellery found by investigators during a search of his office was a gift from a foreign country.
Zapatero, who governed Spain from 2004 to 2011, was placed under formal investigation in May for alleged influence peddling in connection with the bailout of small airline Plus Ultra in 2021.
A police search of Zapatero’s office found jewellery and luxury watches valued at €1.3 million ($1.5 million), leading the investigating magistrate in charge of the case to probe additional alleged offences of tax fraud and smuggling.
During his first interview since he was put under investigation, the former Socialist leader told Spanish public television the jewellery and luxury watches had been received “many years ago” as “a courtesy gift”.
“I am not going to name the country because the justice system should be the first to know,” Zapatero said, adding that he “probably should have” refused the gift.
The case centres on whether Zapatero used his political influence to help airline Plus Ultra secure a €53-million bailout in 2021 and whether he and his family financially benefited from it.
Zapatero, a totem of the Spanish left and ally of current Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, has consistently denied wrongdoing
He reiterated during the interview his “absolute innocence”, saying he had spoken to “no one” in the government or the state holding company SEPI, which oversaw the bailout.
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Zapatero also dismissed as “pure invention” allegations that he instructed associates to create an offshore company in Dubai and defended his personal secretary, who has also been questioned by the investigating judge, describing her as “an exemplary woman”.
His comments came two days after businessman Julio Martínez, a close associate of the former premier, told the investigating judge that Zapatero had played an active role in securing the bailout, according to Spanish media reports.
Separate politically damaging cases have targeted Sánchez’s wife Begoña Gómez and his brother David, while his former right-hand man José Luis Ábalos was sentenced in June to 24 years in prison for corruption.
