The US Department of Homeland Security’s intervention comes amid political tensions between Madrid and Washington and ongoing corruption investigations surrounding ruling Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s inner circle.
The US Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that it worked with Spanish police during an investigation leading to the indictment of former Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero on charges of money laundering.
A spokesperson said that Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) Madrid team “assisted the Spanish National Police in an investigation into the laundering of international public funds”.
READ ALSO: Spain’s former PM under investigation for influence peddling
Zapatero, Socialist Prime Minister of Spain between 2004-2011, is also suspected of influence-peddling. He has become a political ally of ruling Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in recent years, who is himself embroiled in various corruption scandals.
The probe revolves around a €53-million emergency loan granted to Plus Ultra, a minor Spanish airline, in March 2021. The airline ran routes to Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador.
The loan was handed out to companies during the Covid-19 pandemic but Plus Ultra’s suitability drew criticism at the time, which highlighted close ties to Venezuela.
Zapatero is suspected of serving as an intermediary in financial transactions under scrutiny, including alleged payments related to the bailout. He will testify on June 2nd.
Suspicions about Zapatero’s role were reported on extensively before in Spanish media, but the involvement of US authorities is a new layer of information that has come to light with the former Spanish leader’s indictment.
No further details have emerged through the US Homeland Security intervention.
“While we cannot comment on the specifics of the criminal investigation at this time, HSI remains committed to working with its international partners to fight global crime, protect our communities, and uphold the rule of law,” the spokesperson added.
Court documents show that information taken from a mobile phone belonging to Rodolfo Reyes, a former Plus Ultra director, was shared with Spanish police.
The investigation and Zapatero’s impending court appearance are expected to heap further political pressure on Sánchez, whose Socialists have lost successive regional elections and comes as his former Transport Minister, brother, wife, and a former high-ranking party secretary are all investigated for various corruption offences.
Sánchez supporters, however, suggest that several of the accusations are politically motivated lawfare, pointing to the speed with which Spanish courts investigate and indite those with connections to the Socialists compared to ongoing corruption trials involving former Popular Party ministers.
Hard-left Izquierda Unida spokesperson in Spain’s Congress, Enrique Santiago, stated recently that he has “no doubt” that “the United States may have some kind of political interest: in providing information in the case against former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, “probably to provoke a crisis within the Spanish government”.
