Defense challenges judicial valuation

Lawyers representing former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero have filed an appeal against National Court Judge José Luis Calama's decision to order a second appraisal of jewelry seized from his office. The defense, led by attorney Víctor Moreno Catena, argued that the magistrate failed to justify the necessity and utility of a new valuation after Joyería Ansorena had already examined more than 60 individual pieces. In the court filing, Zapatero's counsel noted that duplicating the appraisal creates an unnecessary procedural overlap. The defense also moved to recuse Joyería Yanes, the firm selected by the court for the second appraisal, citing a lack of impartiality following public comments by its director. If the court maintains the requirement for a new appraisal, the defense announced it will propose its own independent court appraiser.

“In this context, it is not clear what utility is pursued or what specific purpose is served by commissioning an expert report that contains, essentially, the same subject matter so that it appears to overlap with the one already carried out.”

Conflict over appraiser impartiality

The defense's objection centers on public statements made by Joyería Yanes general director Juan Yanes López on television programs such as Más Vale Tarde. According to court filings submitted to the Audiencia Nacional, Yanes publicly estimated the collection's value at approximately 2 million euros before conducting any direct examination of the physical objects. Zapatero's legal team argued that such public pronouncements compromise the firm's objectivity, as any subsequent formal report would be influenced by a desire to remain consistent with previous broadcasts. The defense submitted media reports to Judge Calama detailing these public remarks to support the formal recusal petition. In contrast, the initial judicial assessment carried out by Joyería Ansorena set the cumulative value of the seized collection at 1.3 million euros.

“It is clear that whoever announces a figure in public tends not to contradict themselves, due to the pressure to be coherent with what was said and the preservation of their prestige.”

Ansorena appraisal1.3

Yanes public estimate2

Ansorena appraisal

1.3 €M

Yanes public estimate

2 €M

Data from the article text

Origins of the jewels and the Plus Ultra probe

The jewelry dispute arises from a broader investigation into the Plus Ultra affair, in which Judge Calama is examining an alleged influence-peddling scheme tied to a 53-million-euro state bailout granted to the airline during the coronavirus pandemic. National Police officers uncovered the collection of over 60 jewels in May 2026 inside a safe at Zapatero's private office on Madrid's Ferraz Street, a building owned by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). The discovery prompted the magistrate to expand the investigation to include suspected tax fraud and smuggling offenses. In a written submission presented to the court, Zapatero confirmed that the highest-value items in the safe were received as gifts from the Saudi Royal House in 2007.

Political scrutiny and parliamentary reactions

The revelation regarding the Saudi provenance of the jewelry prompted immediate criticism from opposition politicians in Madrid. Partido Popular Secretary General Miguel Tellado publicly questioned why the items were stored in a private safe rather than delivered to Patrimonio Nacional, the state institution responsible for preserving official gifts received by public officials. Tellado demanded explanations regarding the circumstances of the 2007 handover and asked whether the jewels represented political commissions. The controversy also revived attention on diplomatic encounters between Spanish officials and former Saudi monarch King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, including events documented in political memoirs by former Defense Minister José Bono.