Money-Laundering Schemes and Off-Shore Transfers to Panama: Former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero

Former Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is under formal criminal investigation by Spain’s Audiencia Nacional (National Court) for suspected influence-peddling and money laundering. He is alleged to have led an influence network that secured a €53 million (approx. $57 million) government bailout for the Plus Ultra airline during the COVID-19 pandemic in exchange for kickbacks.

Details of the Ongoing Judicial Probe Include:

• The Airline Bailout: In 2021, the Spanish government’s corporate holding firm (SEPI) granted a €53 million public rescue package to Plus Ultra, a small Madrid-headquartered airline with notable ties to Venezuela. Judge José Luis Calama alleges that Zapatero acted as the leader of “a stable and hierarchical influence-peddling structure” to illegally intermediate on the airline’s behalf to ensure the funds were released.

• Fictitious Loans & Kickbacks: Investigators are examining financial flows to determine if Zapatero received up to $2.4 million in kickbacks as compensation for exerting his political influence. Court documents are probing whether a series of fictitious loans and financial mechanisms were used to disguise these payments.

• Transfers to Panama: The investigation is tracking illicit financial transactions and the movement of funds linked to these bribes, with money-laundering schemes and off-shore transfers to Panama under close scrutiny by the court.

• Ongoing Proceedings: This marks the first time a former Spanish Prime Minister has been placed under formal criminal investigation. The probe is unfolding at the National Court in Madrid, which ordered searches of several premises—including Zapatero’s private office—and summoned the ex-Prime Minister to testify.

Zapatero, who served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2011, has categorically denied all allegations, publicly asserting that his public and private actions have always complied with the law.

The Charges against Rodríguez Zapatero: Fictitious Loans, Transfers to Panama and the Former President’s Role in the Airline Bailout

The Spanish airline Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas used an alleged loan from the Panamanian company Panacorp Casa de Valores, SA to feign solvency and meet the requirements of the 53 million euro bailout (62 million dollars at the current exchange rate) granted by the government of Pedro Sánchez.  An independent expert analysis determined that Plus Ultra was already in crisis before the pandemic and did not meet the requirements to receive public aid channeled through the Solvency Support Fund.