Chronology of an alleged influence peddling: this is what the UDEF has against Zapatero

MadridThe Unitat de Delinqüència Econòmica i Fiscal (UDEF) [Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit] of the National Police concludes – at the end of one of the two leaked reports from the investigation into the public bailout of Plus Ultra and the alleged collection of commissions by José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for having interceded – that there are "sufficient indications" against the former Spanish prime minister. It is 185 pages in which the UDEF analyzes the communications intercepted on computer terminals of businessmen linked to both the airline and the former socialist leader, as well as the movements of Zapatero's bank accounts — whom they consider the leader of the organized network— and his circle. But what exactly does the UDEF have against the former Spanish prime minister to make this statement, which has led to his indictment in the National High Court case?

The Zapatero route

The police report details how, at the beginning of 2020, already in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, the directors of Plus Ultra sought financing routes due to their delicate economic situation. Faced with difficulties in obtaining it, they decide to try to take advantage of their influence over Spanish politicians and conclude that there are two possible avenues. That of Zapatero — which is the one that allegedly succeeded — and that of José Luis Ábalos, former Minister of Transport. The contact to reach the former Spanish president is Julio Martínez Martínez, a businessman, friend, and alleged "lieutenant" of Zapatero in the scheme. The contacts recorded in the report are mainly with Julio Martínez Martínez, although a reference also appears — in the exchange of messages between Julio Martínez Sola, a director of Plus Ultra, and Rodolfo Reyes, a shareholder of the company — to a call of about eleven minutes from Martínez Sola directly with the former Spanish president in the context of this search for help. "Zapatero is calling me," exclaimed the Plus Ultra director on April 29, 2020, joking about the need to change his profile picture to look more corporate.

First attempt via ICO

Before the rescue route was opened through the fund established by SEPI, the State's investment arm, Plus Ultra made a failed attempt to obtain loans guaranteed by the Official Credit Institute (ICO). One month after this call, Plus Ultra sent a letter to the vice-president of Banco Santander, Juan Manuel Cendoya, in which they requested help to obtain financing. In the letter, they assure that they are doing so "following the instructions of president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero".

The UDEF has detected that, at that time —the end of May 2020— Reyes and the economic director of Plus Ultra, Roberto Roselli, talk about the "Zapatero-Santander issue". "It seems he pulled many strings. I think something might come out," states Roselli, to which Reyes warns him that they "get paid if things move". At this point, the UDEF already suggests that the network led by Zapatero could have obtained economic compensation.

Influence at SEPI

However, the actions that were allegedly deserving of these compensations are for having managed to get SEPI to grant a rescue of 53 million euros to Plus Ultra. In a conversation on September 22, 2020, extracted from Reyes' mobile by UDEF, Martínez Sola informs him that he will meet Julio Martínez Martínez the next day to pressure for the granting of aid. "What I want is for him or Zapatero to speak with SEPI and get them to say, even if only verbally, that they will grant us the aid with 100% certainty." The Council of Ministers approved the concession on March 9, 2021, after SEPI endorsed it on the 2nd of that month. UDEF concludes that Julio Martínez Martínez, Zapatero's man, had "privileged information" because on February 26 he already communicates to Reyes that the rescue will be granted to them and explains that SEPI has congratulated him for the "excellent work" done for the airline. It is not clear, however, to which public office he would have pressured to obtain it.

The 1% commission

Three days before this communication, the UDEF detected, in an email addressed to Julio Martínez Martínez, a copy of a contract signed between Idella Consulenza Strategica, represented by this businessman linked to Zapatero, and Plus Ultra which stipulates "as remuneration 1% plus VAT of the amount of the approved aid", which would amount to 530,000 euros. The contract was signed on January 19, 2021. Julio Martínez Sola refers to it in a message to Julio Martínez Martínez during the celebration on the day SEPI endorsed the bailout. "Don't worry, this comes out of the 1%", says the Plus Ultra executive after sending him a photo of himself eating seafood, regarding the percentage of the alleged commission.

The role of the secretary

It is here that the suspicion arises that this money would have been deposited abroad and where Zapatero's secretary, Gertrudis Alcázar, appears in the UDEF report, which, according to this police unit, allows it to be stated that "the instructions must necessarily come" from the former president. Investigators have found no trace of the payment to Idella Consulenza Strategica and are focusing on the creation of an offshore company, named Landside Dubai, owned by Idella. The UDEF believes that Zapatero instructed Julio Martínez Martínez to hold a meeting on January 26, 2021—about which the former president's secretary informed him by email—focused on establishing this shell company. These steps were taken a few days after signing the contract with Plus Ultra for the collection of the 1% commission.

Invoices with invented concepts

The contacts between Zapatero's secretary and Julio Martínez Martínez and his team – with Cristóbal Cano, his director of administration – were regular and went beyond the specific case of Plus Ultra. In one of the reports, there are emails from the following months in which Gertrudis Alcázar asks them about the concepts for which she should issue invoices for amounts of 10,000 and 20,000 euros to Análisis Relevante – the company in the name of Julio Martínez Martínez at the epicenter of the plot's corporate structure –. "The issuance of invoices does not appear directly linked to the performance of services", but rather was agreed upon later to "provide formal cover" for payments, concludes the UDEF, which insists that Zapatero had a "directing position". It provides as an example that the former president sent Julio Martínez Martínez a list of individuals and legal entities on July 6, 2021, which includes Plus Ultra and other clients of Análisis Relevante, which the investigators interpret as a "logistical tool" for "prior planning".