Zapatero denies influence peddling as judge questions his sole role at consultancy Análisis Relevante
Former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero defended his consultancy work before a National Court judge on Wednesday, denying any role in the 53-million-euro rescue of airline Plus Ultra while the magistrate questioned whether his firm was a front for commissions.
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero appeared as a suspect at Spain’s Audiencia Nacional on 17 June 2026, facing allegations that he led a criminal network that sold his influence to secure a €53 million government bailout for Plus Ultra during the pandemic. Judge José Luis Calama pressed the former prime minister on his ties to consultancy Análisis Relevante, run by his friend Julio Martínez Martínez, and on payments of over €800,000 that reached a company owned by Zapatero’s daughters.
The consultancy under scrutiny
Judge Calama doubted Zapatero’s description of himself as a mere consultant. He pointed to the company’s finances and told the former leader:
Zapatero insisted the reports he prepared were generic geopolitical documents, not tailored to individual clients, and that clients approached the firm because of his name. The judge retorted that a client “paid up” precisely because of Zapatero’s status.If you had not been there, in my opinion and from what I see in the income and expenses, Análisis Relevante would have gone bankrupt.
Plus Ultra rescue denial
Zapatero repeatedly denied any contact with public officials about the bailout.
He said he did not know the airline’s executives, having met its vice-president Julio Martínez Sola only once, at a lunch in 2024. Yet he acknowledged making a call to Banco Santander in 2020, at the request of Julio Martínez Martínez, so that Plus Ultra “would be attended to.” A letter dated 25 May 2020 cited “instructions from President Zapatero.”I never spoke to anyone in the public sector about the rescue of Plus Ultra and that is unquestionable.
- Zapatero allegedly first hears about Plus Ultra, according to investigators.
- Plus Ultra VP writes to Santander citing 'instructions from President Zapatero' for an ICO loan.
- Zapatero has a lunch with Plus Ultra president Julio Martínez Sola, his only admitted contact with the airline.
- Zapatero testifies as a suspect at the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid.
Daughters’ company received over €800,000
Calama also focused on Whatefav, the digital agency run by Zapatero’s daughters Laura and Alba, which received €239,755 from Análisis Relevante and €561,440 from another investigated firm, Inteligencia Prospectiva. Zapatero said he recommended his daughters because “they work well” and stressed they never had a public contract.
- Análisis Relevante
- 239755 €
- Inteligencia Prospectiva
- 561440 €
Courtroom tension
More than once the magistrate reproached Zapatero for interrupting.
The former prime minister insisted he never ordered the creation of an offshore company and called the accusation “radically false.”Get used to the fact that when I speak, you must remain silent and not rebut.
