The jewels complicate Zapatero's defense: the judge is now also investigating him for tax offense and smuggling

Madrid / BarcelonaThe PSOE has been forced to get used to surprises. The latest jolt of a stormy legislature has been caused by the jewels that the Spanish police found in José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's office almost a month ago. The Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit (UDEF) searched it on the judge's orders, who places the former Spanish president at the forefront of an influence peddling scheme. But the judicial horizon is becoming even more difficult after the appraisal of the jewels valued them at 1.3 million euros and has led to a separate case to investigate him for smuggling and tax evasion. So far, the investigation pointed, among other crimes, to criminal organization, influence peddling, money laundering, and document forgery. Zapatero's spokesperson stated a few days ago that they would be valued at 50,000 euros at most, and the former president's secretary told the Spanish police that they came from Zapatero's wife's inheritance and from gifts from trips.

Judge José Luis Calama, who is investigating the Plus Ultra case at the National Court, argues that the possession of high-value luxury goods and the absence of fiscal traceability regarding their acquisition are an "objective and rational indication" of a possible "relevant tax evasion". He recalls that the acquisition of such high-value jewelry "necessarily generates tax obligations" and cites VAT, Personal Income Tax (IRPF), and property transfer, inheritance, and gift taxes. Furthermore, he points out that if Zapatero does not provide proof of origin for the jewelry, the Tax Agency could charge him with an unjustified capital gain. In a conversation with ARA, José María Mollinedo, general secretary of the Union of Technicians of the Ministry of Finance, finds a lack of "specificity" in the ruling and explains that the tax will depend on the origin of the jewelry.

Thus, for example, he would have had to pay Personal Income Tax if the jewelry was payment in kind in exchange for a service, the gift tax would come into play if it were a gift, and inheritance tax if it came from an inheritance. However, all cases prescribe after five years. Its taxation – and the penalty associated with not having done so – also depends on whether all the jewelry was received in a single transaction or at different times and from different people. In any case, the expert makes it clear that a tax offense must be associated with a specific tax in a given year and that the value of the jewelry at the time of acquisition must be taken into account.

Zapatero will have the opportunity to explain himself the

Zapatero will have the opportunity to explain himself on Wednesday, June 17, when he will have to go to the National Court to testify as an investigated person. It will be two days after Begoña Gómez returns before Judge Juan Carlos Peinado. Pedro Sánchez's wife remains one step away from the dock and will inaugurate a new horribilis week for the PSOE, which will culminate on Friday with the appearance of the State Attorney General, Teresa Peramato, in the Senate. She will go there forced by the PP to give explanations for the meetings of her predecessor's right-hand man with Leire Díez.

The "forgiveness" of Zapatero's spokesperson

The new branch of the investigation into Zapatero has been made public after Luis Arroyo, who is acting as spokesperson for the former Spanish president, asked for "forgiveness" for "having misled about the value of the jewels". Initially, he assured that they would be valued between 30,000 and 50,000 euros, according to an expert he did not identify. But the appraisal has denied it. "I always try to report with honesty and truthfulness. I do not conceive of communication in any other way", X Arroyo, who was an advisor to Zapatero in the Spanish government, defended himself. Now we will have to see what line of defense the lawyer for the former president, Víctor Moreno Catena, follows, and if he requests an alternative analysis with his own experts to deny that they could be payments in kind in exchange for political favors.

The appraisal report, which the ARA has accessed, includes the detailed list of the 79 jewels found. There is, for example, a gold necklace with two emeralds for 278,000 euros, a gold necklace with thirteen sapphires for 220,000 euros, and a gold necklace with five rubies for 155,000 euros. There are eleven pieces with no value, 24 pieces costing less than 1,000 euros, and seven valued between 50,000 and 100,000 euros.

According to the report from the Spanish police who searched the former Spanish president's office on May 19, his secretary, Gertrudis Alcázar, attributed the origin of the jewels to the inheritance of Sonsoles Espinosa, Zapatero's wife, and to "gifts from trips". Subsequently, José Luis Calama requested an appraisal of the jewels to determine their "nature, authenticity, and economic value", as well as the manufacturer, the hallmark or brand of the jeweler, and the approximate date of manufacture. The person in charge of doing so has been the jewelry store Ansorena, which has studied them with the collaboration of the Spanish Gemological Institute.