New UDEF report on Zapatero: points out that he received 200,000 euros to influence in Bolivia

MadridThe Unit of Economic and Fiscal Crime (UDEF) of the Spanish police has opened a new front for José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. A report accessed by the ARA reveals that the former Spanish president allegedly received 200,000 euros from a Peruvian company – Grup Gloria – in exchange for "mediating or influencing" in "various millionaire lawsuits" that the company had in Bolivia. He allegedly charged them through a "simulated contract" with an intermediary company – Focus Social – through three invoices: one for 100,000 euros in 2024 and two for 50,000 euros in 2025. For this purpose, he "allegedly met or contacted" "high political spheres" of Bolivia, such as President Luis Arce, the Ministers of Economy and Justice, or the Attorney General of the State. At the center of the target was a 107 million dollar fine that the company's cement subsidiary – SOBOCE – had received. Sources close to Zapatero defend that the economic consideration responds to a "completely legal consulting activity" and that it "has nothing to do" with Plus Ultra: "It would be unacceptable to conduct a prospective investigation of the former president's professional work".

What does the UDEF conclude?

The report considers that the facts it analyzes over 64 pages "reinforce the indications" of the existence of a criminal organization led by Zapatero, who "took advantage of his international contacts and public standing" to dedicate himself to "the exercise of illicit influences for the benefit of different clients" and received remuneration "by simulating advisory services not rendered, creating contracts "}ad hoc". Who would have had a "relevant role" is Gertrudis Alcázar, Zapatero's secretary, who the judge charged last week. The UDEF has confirmed their involvement in "communication management" and "document exchange".

When and with whom did he meet in Bolivia?

On September 15, 2024, Zapatero would have met in La Paz with Luis Arce and the Minister of Economy. The UDEF emphasizes that two days before the meeting, the former Spanish president requested an update on the situation of the subsidiary of Grup Gloria and the "points to propose in negotiations with the authorities". He was accompanied at the meeting by the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili. Gertrudis Alcázar defended that his presence was important: "He is a businessman of businessmen. Once he is there and sees things and has meetings, he will move everything and mobilize businessmen. He will be the one who takes care of achieving everything".

Also present were brothers Domingo Arnaldo and Guillermo Alfredo Amaro Chacón, two businessmen close to the former Spanish president. The UDEF recalls that they were administrators of Inteligencia Prospectiva, a company "without real activity" whose objective was "'to introduce funds" into Spain which would have been used, among others, to pay 370,000 euros to Análisis Relevante, the company of Julio Martínez Martínez, and 560,000 euros to What The Fav, the company of his daughters. Zapatero's friend will have to appear to testify as an investigated party on July 21.

What other mediations did he undertake?

There are two more moments of interest. In October 2024, one month after the trip to Bolivia, Carmen Almendras – who had been Bolivia's ambassador to Spain from 2007 to 2015 – contacted Gertrudis Alcázar because Grupo Gloria wanted to arrange a meeting with the Minister of Economy and Finance or someone else. "The day I spoke with him about this matter, he told me that the meeting should be with the Minister of Justice," she replied. The next day, Alcázar asked Almendras for the names of the people who should participate in the meeting, which leads the UDEF to conclude that it "would be proven" that Zapatero "made representations".

Later, in May 2025, and at Zapatero's request, Gertrudis Alcázar asked the chief of staff of the President of Bolivia for the contact of the Attorney General of the State and to be notified when President Luis Arce had spoken with the Attorney General so that Zapatero could also call him. But finally, the management took another path: "Zapatero tells me that late yesterday the Minister of Justice called him and he already spoke with him about this whole matter. And he understands that the minister will have already spoken with the prosecutor, passing on the appropriate instructions. Therefore, he no longer needs to make the call".

The UDEF finds it "significant" that, three weeks later, the Second Constitutional Chamber of the Departmental Court of Justice of La Paz accepted the amparo that the company's subsidiary had requested and temporarily set aside the sanction of 107 million dollars. In mid-June, Zapatero received the two transfers of 50,000 euros.

How did the UDEF discover this?

He extracted it from a "first analysis" of the devices he confiscated from Gertrudis Alcázar the day the National Police searched the office of the former Spanish president. He has detected "conversations of interest" from which the exercise of these influences "would be derived." The first fruits of that intervention were the finding of dozens of jewels in the safe that were valued at 1.3 million euros and which led to the opening of a separate case for smuggling and tax evasion.