The judge investigating Zapatero focuses on money: requests information from 57 bank accounts

MadridBefore the summer holidays, José Luis Calama has made a move to deepen the patrimonial investigation of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. After a new report from the UDEF, he has given the green light to a battery of information requests to follow the trail of money related to the alleged “organized and stable structure aimed at the exercise of illicit influences”. The ruling, to which ARA has had access, authorizes the Spanish police to access 57 accounts in twelve banks. 25 belong to the former Spanish president, his two daughters and his secretary – who "are also being investigated– and Julio Martínez. The other 32 are from companies linked to the alleged plot. In Zapatero's case, the request is to Banco Santander, Caixa Bank, and BBVA, three banks where he has six bank accounts.

Why is the judge making this move? He is doing so following a request from UDEF, which argues that most of the information it has analyzed so far and that has allowed to put figures on the suspected operation comes from tax data that the investigated parties have provided to the Tax Agency. Therefore, it considers it "necessary" to have "complete banking information" in order to determine the "origin, traceability, and final destination" of all the money. Furthermore, the UDEF has detected "certain divergences." Specifically, the judge requires the contacts at the twelve banks with the SEPBLAC to provide bank movement statements with the "maximum level of detail" between January 1, 2020 – or the account opening date – and July 2026. Furthermore, it authorizes the UDEF to "expand the information" it deems "relevant."

His daughters and his friend

Regarding the daughters, José Luis Calama reports that What The Fav, his company, is the “main recipient of funds” from the environment of companies owned by Julio Martínez Martínez, who is a friend of Zapatero for many years, who is presented by the UDEF as the frontman for the former president and who has decided to start cooperating with the investigation. In total, it is accounted that they received 1,027,031 euros from six companies. The judge recalls that –as was already known– 447,095 euros were transferred to the personal accounts of Alba Rodríguez and Laura Rodríguez, where Zapatero is listed as authorized.

Likewise, the judge requests information on two accounts of Julio Martínez Martínez at Caixa Bank and Bankinter and 22 accounts of his companies. The ruling recalls that the investigated operation “is articulated through the corporate structure” of Julio Martínez, which was “designed to hide the origin and destination of funds” and “dilute traceability through internal movements without economic logic”. One of the companies is Zenzap: it had movements of almost four million euros between 2020 and 2025, but – according to the UDEF – it had no employees and carried out no commercial activity.

The mortgage of his secretary

And why does it also investigate the assets of Getrudis Alcázar, his secretary? The judge admits that "no income has been detected from the network" to her, but considers that she had a "functional role in the organization," which justifies analyzing her bank accounts. Furthermore, the UDEF has discovered that she bought a house in Velilla de San Antonio (Madrid) for 132,055 euros without a mortgage and with periodic payments between March 2021 and June 2023. "No other operations have been observed that compensate for this transaction or that provide cash income that justifies the economic capacity," concludes the UDEF, in a report also consulted by ARA.

Ten accounts from three clients of the alleged network

Finally, José Luis Calama allows access to ten accounts from three more companies. Five are from Inteligencia Prospectiva, which was one of the clients and –according to the judge– acted as a “shell company with no real activity” and introduced foreign funds through simulated capital increases. Four are from Softgestor, which justified the transfers to Análisis Relevante with an “artificial advisory contract” and had North American clients linked to Venezuela. And one is from Caletón Consultores, which had no real activity, received 1.1 million euros from Plus Ultra between 2020 and 2025, and which the judge presents as an “instrument for redistributing funds” towards Zapatero.