A Dutchman, a Venezuelan and a Peruvian investigated in Switzerland and France: the ramifications of the Plus Ultra case
It is in doubt whether the money from the airline's bailout served to repay a loan under the shadow of money laundering
MadridOn February 23, 2026, a judge in Madrid sent the case that led to the imputation of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero to the National Court. The case had resurfaced after France and Switzerland sent information about an ongoing investigation in which Plus Ultra was referenced as a "client" of a criminal organization dedicated to money laundering. The magistrate pointed out that Rodolfo Reyes – majority shareholder of the airline and in the crosshairs of the United States– and other executives of the airline had allegedly orchestrated a plan since 2020 to "appropriate clean money from public subsidies." As the alleged crimes were reportedly committed outside of Spain, the National Court is competent to investigate them, which is why José Luis Calama is now leading the investigation.
José Luis Calama is now leading the investigation.
French and Swiss investigators warned that it was an organization with connections to Venezuela that had allegedly diverted funds to Europe illegally. The money came from public food programs of Nicolás Maduro's government, the so-called Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP), but also from the sale of gold by the Bank of Venezuela to a company in the United Arab Emirates through Swiss accounts. In particular, France and Switzerland were scrutinizing three individuals who had allegedly lent money to the airline.
Simon Leendert Verhoeven
is the person whose phone the United States intercepted, the content of which has been key to indicting ZapateroIt adds that, at the same time, there were "connections" between Rodolfo Reyes and the money laundering services that "the criminal organization offers". Rodolfo Reyes is one of the Venezuelan directors of Plus Ultra through Snip Aviation, the company that owns half of the airline's share capital. He has always been linked to the administration of Nicolás Maduro and the then vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, and is the person whose mobile phone was intercepted by the United States, the content of which has been key to charging Zapatero. On his device, the North American authorities found the conversations in which the plot spoke of their contact with the former Spanish president to obtain the rescue of Plus Ultra by the Council of Ministers. According to the Spanish police, Verhoeven had significant investments in Spain, especially in real estate. It highlights, for example, a property in Palma that was searched in October.
Danilo Diazgranados and Felipe Baca
The second name is Danilo Diazgranados, a businessman close to Hugo Chávez. The UDEF reviews a chat on Signal from 2022 in which he was talking with the Peruvian Felipe Baca about a money laundering operation. There was a potential client in Venezuela who had a large amount of cash because some works had been paid to him. And he didn't know what to do with it. The UDEF states that they offered him "different solutions" to launder it: through an account with a broker or through a commercial operation. To refine it, there would have been meetings at the Hotel Mandarín in Madrid and at La Dorada, a restaurant in Pozuelo de Alarcón. Both ended the conversation joking about the "exorbitant amounts" –in the words of the UDEF– that they would charge.
This conversation points to a presumed operation to launder money on a large scale. But... what is the connection with Zapatero? In the summary, in a chat from October 2024, Diazgranados admitted to having a "personal and economic relationship" with someone called "Zorro", "Z" or "ZZZZ". The magistrate who initiated the case and later sent it to the National Court identifies him as José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. In her opinion, the chat reveals "concrete acts over several years" by a "hierarchical organization with a vocation for permanence". The "influence" of the former Spanish president on Repsol's top executives so that Diazgranados obtained the distribution of lubricants in December 2023 is also recorded. Now, however, we have to see how Judge Calama assesses it.