Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has been placed under formal investigation in a corruption investigation related to the €53 million state bailout of Plus Ultra airline during the COVID-19 pandemic, Spain’s National Court said today, Anadolu reports.

The case marks the first time in Spain’s democratic era that a former prime minister has been formally named as a suspect in a corruption case, according to reports by Spanish media.

Judge Jose Luis Calama called Zapatero, the Socialist prime minister from 2004 to 2011, to testify on June 2 as part of an investigation into whether public bailout funds were diverted for illegal purposes.

Police from Spain’s economic crimes unit on Tuesday searched Zapatero’s office in Madrid, located near the headquarters of the ruling Socialist Party, as well as several companies linked to the investigation, including a business owned by his daughters.

The investigation centers on allegations that Plus Ultra improperly used public funds and may have been involved in laundering funds linked to Venezuela while individuals linked to the airline allegedly received kickbacks related to the approval of the bailout.

Spanish authorities are looking into payments made by the airline to the consulting company. Analisis Relevante, which reportedly paid Zapatero more than 400,000 euros over five years for consulting work, according to Spanish daily El Pais.

Zapatero has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, pressing for the bailout or any connection to Plus Ultra.

The conservative opposition Popular Party used the investigation to attack current Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his Socialist government. “The structure is collapsing and the bosses of the scheme are beginning to fall,” wrote Popular Party secretary general Miguel Tellado in X.

The party demanded that Sanchez appear before Parliament to explain Zapatero’s role and accused the former prime minister of being closely tied to the current Socialist leadership.

Meanwhile, Socialist Party officials called for respect for the presumption of innocence.

Socialist Party Secretary Rebeca Torro said Zapatero had her “full support” and criticized what she described as efforts by parts of the judiciary to target Socialist leaders.

Catalan pro-independence ERC party spokesman Gabriel Rufian defended Zapatero, arguing that right-wing parties had long targeted him. the former leader for political reasons.

The spokeswoman for the far-left coalition Sumar expressed her “doubts” about the case, saying it is too early to form an opinion due to the lack of information.

Source: prizrenpost