The ex-premier maintained his innocence over three hours of testimony before Judge Calama on Wednesday, marking the first time a former or current Spanish prime minister has been summoned as a suspect in a corruption case.
A judicial investigation into Spain’s ex-Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero over alleged influence trafficking has now widened to include the Socialist’s daughters, according to a court announcement on Thursday.
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This probe, targeting a key figure of the Spanish left, emerges amid multiple other corruption inquiries involving Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s family and former close associates, which have cast doubts on the government’s stability.
Zapatero, who led Spain from 2004 to 2011, was formally charged last month on suspicion of influence peddling linked to the €53 million rescue package for the small airline Plus Ultra in 2021.
Judge José Luis Calama has indicated that evidence points to Zapatero orchestrating a network using “opaque financial pathways” to mask fund transfers and secure kickbacks tied to the bailout.
The Audiencia Nacional court stated on Thursday that Calama has summoned Alba and Laura Rodriguez Espinosa “to allow their appearance as persons under investigation and to guarantee their defence rights.”
The judge asserted that both daughters managed a company “whose activities are circumstantially linked to the scheme under scrutiny,” which justified their inclusion in this inquiry.
According to the statement, this company played “a facilitating role in the transfer, concealment, or execution of key operations.”
Authorities conducted a raid on the company’s offices in May.
Gertrudis Alcazar, Zapatero’s secretary, has also been placed under investigation.
During a three-hour session before Judge Calama on Wednesday, the former prime minister denied wrongdoing, becoming the first former or active Spanish prime minister to be named a suspect in a corruption case.
He maintained that he always acted “with integrity and transparency” and refuted ownership of any illicit companies, funds, or financial assets.
A search of Zapatero’s office uncovered jewellery and luxury watches valued at €1.3 million, which prompted Judge Calama to investigate additional suspicions of tax evasion and smuggling.
Zapatero’s circle claims this collection stems from a family inheritance.
Spanish news outlets reported that the jewels were a present from a former Saudi Arabian monarch.
Reforming politics
Upon assuming office in 2018, Sánchez pledged to restore integrity in Spanish politics following the conviction of the main conservative Popular Party in its own corruption case.
Nevertheless, the inquiry into Zapatero threatens to undermine a figure regarded as a “moral reference” for Sánchez and the Socialists, according to Astrid Barrio, a political science professor at the University of Valencia, speaking to AFP.
An ongoing two-year investigation into Sánchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, on suspicion of influence peddling has already rattled the government, with a trial decision expected soon.
Rulings are also anticipated in separate graft cases involving Sánchez’s former close collaborator José Luis Abalos and his brother David Sánchez.
Recent disclosures about an active police investigation involving a former Socialist activist accused of orchestrating obstruction of investigations into Sánchez’s circle have intensified governmental pressure.
Amid a steady flow of negative news, the Socialists have experienced four regional electoral defeats since late 2025, which could foreshadow next year’s national elections.
While the conservative and far-right opposition have demanded Sánchez’s resignation and early polls, the prime minister is determined to complete his mandate through 2027.
Additional sources • AFP